Over the past year, we’ve watched Bella Hadid embrace her inner horse girl—dressing the part of a cowgirl and taking to equestrian competitions again, after a dangerous bout of Lyme disease made her step away from the sport. The Orebella founder’s return to the ring has also been greatly influenced by her new beau, Adan Banuelos.
The Mexican-American professional horse trainer is also a literal modern-day cowboy, and has helped train Hadid over the past year as she’s found her way back onto the horse (no pun intended). He certainly has the qualifications, as he was inducted into the National Cutting Horse Association Riders Hall of Fame at the age of 28, becoming one of the youngest riders ever to receive the honor.
It seems the two have bonded over their love of horses and equestrian sport, and since their romance began, Hadid has been sharing all kinds of romantic posts to Instagram, indicating that this relationship might just be the real deal.
Ahead, we break down the pair’s complete relationship timeline, from the first dating rumors, to their recent New York City date nights, and more.
September 15, 2024: Bella celebrates Adan’s new film with a sweet Instagram tribute.
Following the premiere of Banuelos’s new movie, Teton Ridges’ Horse Sense, Hadid celebrates her partner with a thoughtful tribute on Instagram.
She writes: “Thank you for this crazy magical opportunity my love @ab_performancehorses. I am so proud of you and all that you do. I see you and how hard you work everyday, and for you to be recognized in this way was so beautiful to watch. I keep looking back and I’m just grateful to be a part of it. This was the most bad ass thing I could ever imagine.”
She added, “I love you to the moon baby! @ab_performancehorses. Photos by the amazing @rebaehickss 😇.”
September 12, 2024: The pair attend the premiere of “Window to the West” in New York City.
Western entertainment company Teton Ridge unveils a new short film series, titled Window to the West, with the first installment—Horse Sense—starring none other than Banuelos.
In the film, the NCHA hall-of-famer offers an inside look into his upbringing, and when it gets to the present-day portion of his life, he highlights Hadid and their relationship.
As the movie holds its first of two premieres in the United States, Hadid and Banuelos are seen promoting the picture in New York City, engaging in plenty of PDA in the process.
The pair also bring a little bit of their equestrian skill to the streets of the Big Apple.
July 8, 2024: Bella calls Adan her “best trainer ever” in cheeky Instagram post.
While giving an update on her latest events in the rodeo world, Hadid sneaks in a subtle shoutout to her man.
“Ran a few barrels over the past few weeks, lost my hat during my last run
thank you for documenting Rodeo queens @paulamayerphotography @bailey.ford.photography ❤️🍀,” the Kin Euphorics creator writes in her caption. She then ends her message with a nod to Banuelos, adding: “Best trainer ever 😉 @ab_performancehorses.”
May 2, 2024: Adan plays the role of the supportive boyfriend at Bella’s Orebella fragrance launch.
As Hadid celebrates the release of her new fragrance label, Orebella, she gets the support of her boyfriend, whom she’s seen kissing in an Instagram post marking the launch.
“Im still in shock over the turn out of our first day of @orebella thank you everyone for your love and kind words; it means the world to me,” Hadid writes in the caption. “I can’t thank my team at @orebella, my family, friends and loved ones enough for the support, time, passion, and love they put into me and the Orebella launch. Orebella is a dream come true, it feels unreal to think this is reality. Thank you to everyone involved. I couldn’t have done this without you🤍.”
This same weekend, Hadid and Banuelos are spotted out and about on several date nights around New York City.
April 8, 2024: Bella shares a sweet Instagram tribute for Adan’s 35th birthday.
In honor of Banuelos’s 35th, Hadid shares a series of loving posts to her Instagram Story.
The slides capture various moments from Hadid and Banuelos’s relationship, with shots of them hanging in the equestrian ring, going to rodeo events, riding horses at night, and sharing many, many kisses.
“Happy birthday my love…” Hadid writes over the first photo, later adding a purple heart emoji to another photo of them kissing.
March 14, 2024: Bella locks down a new property that’s closer to Adan.
Hadid proves the seriousness of their relationship when she buys a new property in the Fort Worth area, close to where Banuelos resides.
The news is broken by TMZ, which reports via close sources that Hadid “scooped up a home in the Fort Worth area in a rural neighborhood, but the community is close enough to urban amenities, so she doesn’t feel cut off from the world.”
The outlet also notes that Hadid and Banuelos have been taking turns staying at each other’s homes.
March 8, 2024: They attend their first public event together.
The two attend the American Performance Horseman at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, where Banuelos is competing.
At some point during the night, Hadid and Banuelos start dancing and looking lovingly into one another’s eyes. The model sports a sparkly halter top and leather pants, while Banuelos rocks a button-up shirt and jeans. They match in black cowboy hats.
Hosted by western entertainment company Teton Ridge, the first-of-its-kind event celebrates equestrian sport by uniting cutting, reined cow horse, and reining all under one roof, where the top challengers face off to try to win $1 million in prize money.
February 14, 2024: Bella hard-launches her relationship with Adan.
Since the cat is already pretty much out of the bag, Hadid decides to hard launch her relationship with Banuelos by sharing a romantic photo to her Instagram Story on Valentine’s Day.
In the shot, which looks like it was pulled straight out of a country-western magazine, Hadid is seen standing on a gate and looking at Banuelos, who returns her eye contact as he sits on a horse and rests his hand on her thigh.
On top of the photo, Hadid adds text that says: “My valentine💌💋” (just in case the message weren’t clear enough).
January 24, 2024: Adan appears on Bella’s Instagram for the first time.
Months after the pair are rumored to be together, Hadid posts a slideshow of photos that are taken from inside a riding arena, and in one of the snaps, Hadid is seen holding hands with Banuelos and smiling.
In her caption, she writes: “Never stop trying new things. I feel lucky enough to have the opportunity to keep learning in life. ❤️ Thank you Tito, I will never stop loving on you like this!” (For context, Tito is the horse she rides.)
Only two days prior, Banuelos had shown his support for Hadid on Instagram, sharing a video of her competing and writing: “Proud of our girl ✨ Bella and #MetallicTito taking home 3rd place at their first show out! Can’t wait to see what the future holds for this duo…”
October 17, 2023: Rumors of Bella and Adan’s relationship arise as the two engage in serious PDA.
While it’s unclear how exactly Hadid and Banuelos first became romantically involved, it was likely when Hadid hired him to be her equestrian trainer.
Still, their romance is kept under wraps until TMZ captures footage of the pair engaging in some serious PDA as they leave the Fort Worth stockyards in Texas.
In the video, the duo are seen kissing, hugging, and holding hands as they stop by different shops around a Texas neighborhood.