Bella Hadid on Falling for Cowboy Adan Banuelos and Dreaming of Motherhood

Bella Hadid found love in Texas with cowboy Adan Banuelos in a turn of events fit for a rom-com. The model spoke to British Vogue about how she met Banuelos and the couple’s hopes for the future.

Hadid, who suffers from chronic pain due to Lyme disease, was open about her physical and mental health struggles. She was at a low point when her mother, Yolanda Hadid, encouraged her to join her in Texas, where Hadid’s stepfather was building a house.

“They were like: ‘OK, we’re not going to leave you by yourself,’” Hadid recalled. “At the time I was a 26-year-old living with her mom on our [Pennsylvania] farm that I also pay for, feeling [like] a full tiny baby child. They were basically like: ‘Just come. You can ride, sleep, tap out. You just can’t be alone.’”

“So I go,” Hadid continued. “I’m with my stepdad. We move cows, we’re on trail rides, and I’m starting to feel a little better, but just still dealing with my own stuff. Then, the next day, I meet my boyfriend. I saw him walk in, and it was like a gust of fresh air.”

They were at a local horse show. “So he basically came in, walked into the exhibit hall, which is where we do all of the show stuff. I was getting a cowboy hat fitted. I just saw him and I was like that’s the…I always wanted the cowboy,” she said with a laugh. “And he’s pretty gorgeous, let me tell you something.”

Adan Banuelos and Bella Hadid in New York City on Sept. 12, 2024.

Hadid said Banuelos didn’t know who she was prior to meeting her. “For me, that was such a breath of fresh air,” she admitted. She admires so much about him: “He’s the youngest Mexican cowboy to ever be inducted into the Hall of Fame. He works for his family, he works for his customers, and he works to hopefully build a home and a family one day.”

Hadid wants a family, too: “I can’t wait to be a mom,” she said. “I think that I’m somebody for a lot of people, but in the real intimate way of being the person that somebody can count on consistently, that will change my life for me. And I cannot wait. I never grew up being like, ‘Oh, I have this vision of marriage.’ I have this vision of being a mother. But it’s got to a point where I’m like: ‘You know what? That’s something that’s for me.’ I think that would make me truly happy.”