Throughout Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules, viewers have gotten a peek inside Ariana Madix and Daniel Wai’s long-distance romance. As Ariana explained on the season premiere, “He’s a personal trainer and a bartender, and he lives in New York,” while she resides in California.
In the video above, Ariana and Daniel open up about the logistics of navigating a relationship from (as Ariana noted in the premiere episode) “2,427” miles apart, including what “sucks” about the distance.
Ariana Madix and Daniel Wai open up about the “good and bad” of doing long-distance
In the clip above, which is a preview of Vanderpump Rules Season 11, Episode 14 (set to air on April 30), Ariana and Daniel are having a meal together while talking about their upcoming trip to San Francisco. “We’re gonna fly on the plane tomorrow,” Ariana says, to which Daniel adds, “First time together.”
After discussing some of the details of the upcoming trip with Ariana’s castmates, she reflects on their bi-coastal relationship.
“I feel like long distance has been really good for us in a lot of ways,” she says. “Because we’ve gotten to know each other just talking to each other all the time.”
Although Daniel agrees, he points out that there is a downside to living so far apart. “It’s good and bad, right? I work so many jobs. I’m busy. I work seven days a week,” he says. “But it sucks because I don’t see you.”
In an episode interview shown in the clip, Ariana explains more about her communication with Daniel, given the time difference between them.
“There’s definitely been times where he’s getting up in the morning for work, and I’m going to bed from the night before, which is fun,” she says. “We’re like, ‘Goodnight,’ ‘Good morning.'”
Ariana seems happy with the long-distance arrangement, but she is also eager to live closer to Dan. “What about moving here?” she asks him in the clip. “How fun would that be?” Dan hesitates to answer, before playfully saying, “I think we have to talk about that.”
Ariana tries to make her case for him to relocate to Los Angeles, reminding him, “When winter hits and it’s March and you’re like, ‘This is miserable,'” but he has a different solution in mind: “We’ll just go to Europe or something instead.”
Ariana Madix explains why she and Daniel continue to live in different places
Previously, Ariana opened up about why Daniel is hesitant to move to California. “I’d love it if he moved out here, but he’s born and raised in New York, so I can understand how that would be a huge adjustment,” she said on an August 2023 episode of Scheana Shay’s podcast, adding that Daniel’s family is also based in New York. “I wouldn’t want to take him away from his family.”
Ariana isn’t looking to live in New York City again, either. “Moving back to New York for me sounds, oh god, it’s so much harder… L.A. is just easier, and it’s so beautiful all the time,” she explained. “It’s kind of hard to beat.”