thank u, next

Chris Appleton has moved on with a hunky new man following divorce from Lukas Gage

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Two-panel image. In the left panel, Chris Appleton poses on a red carpet. He has dark spiked hair with bleached tips, a strong jawline and a beard and mustache. He wears a black suit. On the right, Federico Debernardi takes a selfie on a sunset-lit beach. He holds his sunglasses in his mouth and has black wet hair and a beard and mustache. He stands shirtless.

Cue up the Ariana Grande! It seems Chris Appleton is ready to say, “Thank U, Next.”

The 40-year-old celeb hairstylist –– and Kim Kardashian’s BFF –– made it clear that he’s moved on from ex-husband Lukas Gage by going public with new handsome Argentinian boyfriend, Federico Debernardi.

The couple were first spotted attending a party at Chateau Marmont before making a (literal) splash on a beach date in Santa Monica over the weekend.

According to Us Weekly, Debernardi is “a successful art dealer who prefers to live his life out of the limelight.” And oh yeah, he’s also a Harvard graduate. Casual stuff!

While their relationship is “very new,” a source told the outlet that Appleton is “extremely happy with where he is at right now.”

As TMZ reported, finding a partner outside of “the Hollywood scene” was a “welcomed change” for Appleton, who met Debernardi via mutual friends and has already introduced him to his own pals.

It probably doesn’t hurt that Federico is quite the artsy hunk, too.

Take a look for yourself…

We’re happy to hear Appleton has found someone special, considering his split from Gage was reportedly “not amicable.”

Back in November 2023, he filed for divorce due to “irreconcilable differences” after just six months of marriage.

But for his part, Gage has also moved on.

As he told People at SXSW, he’s doing “great” in his newfound singledom. “It’s been a year of learning, growing, changing –– yeah, just constant change,” he said. “Life’s always changing.”

That being said, it sounds like he’s not rushing into a relationship himself just yet.

After being spotted on “normie” dating app Hinge in January, the Road House actor told reporters that he was looking for “the real ones.”

“We don’t need any more influencers,” he explained. “We’re good, we’ve done that already.” The shade!

However, the 28-year-old actor later followed up with TMZ this month, revealing he was putting romance on the back burner.

“I took a break from [dating apps],” Gage said. “They’re not for me right now. Right now, I’m finding myself. I’m dating me.” Nothing wrong with a little self-love!

Nevertheless, Gage’s comments came on the heels of rumors that he might be dating Saltburn star Archie Madekwe.

(And to be fair, the White Lotus actor did call Madekwe “my new husband” at Vanity Fair‘s Young Hollywood party.)

Still, the actors’ body language and Gage’s joking tone seemed to corroborate that the two starlets are just friends.

And honestly, after a whirlwind marriage and divorce, we’d say both Gage and Appleton have earned the right to joke however they want!

Related:

You’ll never guess who ‘Road House’ star Lukas Gage has got his eyes on now

There’s only room for one man in Lukas Gage’s life right now

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