Bella Hadid calls it quits with rodeo star boyfriend Adan Banuelos — the story behind the split

After about two years of cowboy romance, Bella Hadid and Adan Banuelos have gone their separate ways.

According to Entertainment Tonight, the 29-year-old model is 'doing her best to stay positive and distract herself' by leaning into work and close friendships.

It might come as a surprise to anyone who caught the couple’s social media moments last fall. In October, Banuelos, 36, celebrated both their anniversary and Hadid’s birthday with a sweet Instagram post, referring to their relationship as 'pure and beautiful'. Over the years, Hadid and Banuelos had made several public appearances together. In September 2024, they stepped out in coordinated Western wear for a night in NoHo, and earlier that year, the couple twinned in all-black ensembles while in New York City.

Yet behind the scenes, romance on the ranch wasn’t all horse-drawn sunsets. TMZ reported that Hadid had fully embraced Texas life for the relationship, moving near Fort Worth and even a cosy video in October 2023.

Apparently, the couple was on-again, off-again and 'tumultuous,' complicated further by their shared business ties, conflicting schedules, including the purchase of million-dollar horses. Rumblings of trouble reportedly started in June, and by December, sources confirmed to separate outlets, including Page Six, the couple had split. Hadid even spent the holidays in Aspen with friends, decidedly solo.

The beginning of the romance

The romance began in early 2023. Bella Hadid’s move to Texas in that year, was a conscious step toward prioritising her health and managing chronic Lyme disease. Settling closer to her mother, Yolanda Hadid, she found herself at a Fort Worth horse show, where a chance encounter would spark a new chapter in her life. While getting a cowboy hat fitted, she met Adan Banuelos , a moment she would later describe as a “gust of fresh air.”

Banuelos didn’t recognise Hadid right away, a detail that the model found refreshingly low-key. Their connection blossomed quietly before becoming public in October 2023, after a Valentine’s Day appearance at the Fort Worth Stockyards, where Banuelos was officially introduced as her “Valentine.”

Early in the whirlwind romance, Hadid moved into Banuelos’ fifth-wheel trailer before eventually buying a home in Texas.

Who is Adan Banuelos?

Banuelos is a luminary in the performance horse world. Inducted into the National Cutting Horse Association Hall of Fame in 2017 as one of its youngest members, he boasts multiple championships and more than eight million dollars in career winnings. Based in Weatherford, Texas, Adan Banuelos leads Banuelos Performance Horses and comes from a celebrated Mexican-American equestrian lineage. His father, Ascension Banuelos, holds the distinction of being the first Mexican-American inducted into the NCHA Hall of Fame.

For now, the couple is riding separate trails, leaving fans to wonder if this Texas-sized romance will trot back together, or remain a wild ride in memory only.