Adan Banuelos Shares His Pride After Bella Hadid Is Named Rookie of the Year
Bella Hadid has a new man in her life.
The supermodel was spotted kissing and holding hands with cowboy Adan Banuelos in October 2023, at the Fort Worth Stockyards in the Texas city — months after she split from art director Marc Kalman. The two even wore coordinating jeans and boots, and were seen stopping by several shops together.
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The relationship seems to be fairly new, but here, we break down everything we know about the lucky man.
Who is he?
Banuelos is a Mexican-American horseman. He lives in Forth Worth, Texas, and is the son of Ascencion Banuelos, the first Mexican-American ever inducted into the National Cutting Horse Association Hall of Fame.
What does he do?
Banuelos is not just your average equestrian—he’s actually a big star in the horse-riding world. In 2017, he was inducted into the National Cutting Horse Association Rider Hall of Fame, as one of the youngest inductees of all time, and in 2020 he won the NCHA Futurity Open Championship.
Apart from his own success as a performance horseman, he now specialises in training and showing cutting horses. He also trains riders.
How did he meet Bella?
It’s unclear, but as we know, Hadid loves horses too. She grew up riding and recently returned to competitive equestrianism following a hiatus due to her Lyme disease. So while Hadid has a megastar life of her own due to her modeling career, she and Banuelos may run in the same competitive horse-riding circles.
Bella subtly made their romance Instagram official
In January, Hadid shared a series of photos that captured her experience participating in a competition hosted by the NCHA, in which she rode bay roan stallion Metallic Tito to compete in the Limited Amateur category. Among the photos was a sweet snap of herself excitedly smiling and holding hands with Banuelos. A video included in the same post also shows Hadid riding horseback as Banuelos, also on horseback, watches her from the sidelines.
'Never stop trying new things. I feel lucky enough to have the opportunity to keep learning in life. ❤️,' Hadid captioned the post. 'Thank you Tito , I will never stop loving on you like this!'
And she posted Adan for Valentine’s Day
In February 2024, the supermodel officially confirmed their romance with a sweet Valentine’s Day tribute posted to her Instagram story. The snap shows Banuelos — wearing a denim button-up, jeans, and a black baseball cap — on horseback while holding hands with Hadid, who stands against a railing. She wears a black graphic T-shirt, bootcut jeans, brown cowboy boots, and a green camo cap.
'My valentine,' she captioned the photo.
And they celebrated her birthday together
On February 16, 2024, Hadid shared photos and videos from her 27th birthday celebration, which took place back on October 9, 2023. In several of them, she appears with Banuelos, with whom she coordinated in a sleek cowboy outfit.
In one particular clip, Hadid leans in to kiss her man as they sit at a table at a ranch. She looks incredible in a blue denim bustier top and black jeans cinched by a black belt with a big silver heart-shaped buckle, and black leather boots. Banuelos wears a striped light blue button-down with black blue jeans and a brown belt with a gold buckle. They both accessorise with matching black cowboy hats.
And she supported him at his American Performance Horseman event
On March 8, 2024, Hadid attends The American Performance Horseman by Teton Ridge at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, to support her man. She is all smiles, laughs, and cheers as Banuelos competes in various western equine sports. Fittingly, she dresses the part in a sparkly brown camisole top, black leather pants, a black choker necklace with a silver horseshoe-like charm, and a brown cowgirl hat. She looks radiant with glowy makeup and natural hair.
After his performance, Banuelos and Hadid are captured looking so in love. The two gaze into each other's eyes adoringly as she caresses his face and he holds her at the arms and waist. Banuelos looks every inch like the cowboy he is in dark wash jeans, a black button down shirt, and a matching hat. See all the photos below:
Bella moved to Texas to be closer to him
TMZ reported that the supermodel purchased a house in a rural neighbourhood in Fort Worth, Texas, in order to be closer to Banuelos. The outlet noted that Banuelos also owns a home in the same neighbourhood and that he and Hadid often split their time between the two properties.
He’s proud of Bella
In December 2024, the National Cutting Horse Association named Hadid as the 2024 NCHA Limited Age Event (LAE) Rookie of the Year. 'This hard-earned title has been a competition for Hadid all year long,' the organisation said in a statement. 'Entering the cutting community a little over a year ago, Hadid has proven herself as the highest money-earning Amateur for NCHA Limited Aged Events.'
Banuelos celebrated the honour on Instagram. Sharing a video of Hadid on horseback during a cutting competition, he wrote, 'Our trip to Jackson, Mississippi was well worth it! Bella rode 3 horses and qualified to 7 different finals, bringing home her first CHAMPIONSHIP buckle! We continue to be proud of her in (and out) of the arena ♥️.'
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