Who Is Garth Wakeford? All about His Relationship with RHONY Luann de Lesseps
Luann de Lesseps will be starting the thirteenth season of The Real Housewives of New York with a new man in her life.Â
The trailer for season 13 of the show gave fans a quick preview of Lesseps' beau, Garth Wakeford. Going by the short clip, it seemed like the rest of the cast had mixed feelings about him.Â
"Garth, Garth, Garth, it's always Garth," fellow housewife Sonja Morgan complained in the trailer, while Eboni K. Williams said, "No wonder Luann's so [expletive] happy."
It is certain that the viewers will get to know Wakeford more personally once the show airs. Still, this is what's known about him thus far.Â
Who Is Garth Wakeford?
Wakeford is a former professional rugby player turned fitness professional from South Africa and the proud founder of Juluka Fitness.Â
The former athlete showed affinity to sports from a young age. He is a Bachelor of Arts graduate specializing in Human Movement Science and Kinesiology from Rhodes University, South Africa.Â
He is also a National Academy of Sports Medicine certified personal trainer, a Pose Method running coach, a Concept2 rower coach, and a former military man.
After working for twelve years at the exclusive La Palestra club in New York, he opted to open his own establishment in East Hampton, New York.Â
https://t.co/KVoBU5ZH1L pic.twitter.com/7k5pJ3V4XU — Garth Wakeford (@WakefordGarth) January 6, 2021
His institute caters to clients with a unique outdoor high-intensity interval training (HIIT) class as well as a variety of other outdoor activities, including paddleboarding and trail walks/runs.
He Had a Near-Death Experience
The successful fitness instructor discovered his calling after he went through a near-death experience in his teen years.
On his website, he talks about how he fell victim to a tractor accident that left him with serious injuries.Â
As a part of his treatment, healthcare professionals had prescribed various exercises. He learned and refined those exercises to the point where they enhanced his healing.
In the process, he was enlightened. He learned how the body could do amazing things if the mind was strong and determined to seize success.Â
Wakeford's Silent Socials
The soon-to-be reality star's socials, however, do not reflect much of his eventful past—not to the general public at least.
His Instagram handle is currently set to private, and his Twitter account only has about a dozen posts to date.Â
pic.twitter.com/MXtVFKiqj0 — Garth Wakeford (@WakefordGarth) April 24, 2020
Even so, his Twitter bio paints Wakeford as a humble animal lover who was "grateful for everything and entitled to nothing.Â
The Relationship Was Short-Lived
According to Bustle, the rumors that Lesseps and Wakeford were dating surfaced sometime around November 2020, when they were seen having lunch at Tutto il Giorno in the Hamptons.Â
The RHONY star confirmed that they were dating during her time at the Ex Appeal podcast on November 18, 2020.
They met via a dating app, and at the time, she thought he was "too good to be true."Â
Still, the relationship was short-lived. By April 2, 2021, she had informed Page Six that they stopped seeing each other just before the holidays.Â
On the May 13, 2021, episode of Housewives Nightcap, Lesseps admitted that she had since moved on from her "COVID sizzle" and was casually dating someone she met in Mexico. Â