WE’RE IN CRUNCH time on what just may be the final season of Yellowstone; the only episode left to air is season 5, episode 14, which just might be the series finale (though Paramount Network’s marketing has yet to refer to it as that). There are several storylines still open, several mysteries still to be solved, and several characters desperately needing closure. So, with time running out, what does Yellowstone co-creator and showrunner Taylor Sheridan do? Well, of course, he gives the character played by Taylor Sheridan a whole bunch of screen time and a never-before-seen girlfriend played by a famous supermodel, that’s what!
Look, guys. At this point, you have to kind of realize that with Yellowstone, this is part of the deal. Sheridan is without a doubt a talented screenwriter; his work on movies like Sicario and Hell or High Water proved that without question. If you want tightly-crafted TV stories from Taylor Sheridan, you can look to something like Lioness or the Yellowstone spinoffs 1883 and 1923. For the last couple years, Sheridan has treated Yellowstone kind of like his free jazz project, with storylines and character beats that come out of nowhere and stop as quickly as they start. He’s trying things, and doing whatever he wants—and, look, he made this show into a massive hit, so who could blame him?
Sheridan’s character on Yellowstone is Travis Wheatley, a famous horse trainer and friend of Rip (Cole Hauser) who’s been a recurring character on the show since the very first season. He’s always popped in and out, but in season 5, episode 13, titled “Give the World Away,” we get to see more of Travis than ever before as Beth travels to his ranch as they try to get his help to sell the Dutton Ranch horses for as much as they possibly can.
We already knew that Travis was an expert-level horse trainer, but our extended screen time in this episode showed that he also owns and runs his own ranch, plays a seemingly-constant game of strip poker with younger women in various states of undress, is an expert showman and deceptive salesman, and has a girlfriend played by supermodel Bella Hadid.
To Sheridan’s credit, while he does write his own character as essentially the best and coolest guy in the world, he does at least make Beth (Kelly Reilly) skeptical. While watching Travis ride and showcase the horses being sold, she asks Sadie (the Bella Hadid character) what, exactly she’s doing; he’s arrogant, condescending, misogynistic, and 25 years older than her. What is the deal? Sadie doesn’t hesitate, and also doesn’t deny anything Beth said. But she tells her exactly what it is she is drawn to: he’s one hell of a horse-rider. And they both look on in awe, unable to deny his talent there. Ok then!
Ultimately, Travis proves to be not only a great horse rider and salesman, but—after messing with Beth a little—a good guy who’s willing to help out with the Dutton Ranch firesale. By the end of the episode, they’ve sold off all of their cattle, horses, and assets, making up $30 million, much thanks to Travis without a doubt.
While we’ll have to wait for the Yellowstone finale to learn the fate of the Duttons and the Yellowstone ranch, we can be sure of one thing: Travis is living the good life.
Who is Bella Hadid and why was she on Yellowstone?
If you thought Travis’s girlfriend, Sadie, on Yellowstone looked familiar, that’s because she’s played by Bella Hadid—one of the most famous supermodels in the world. At the moment she has 61.5 million Instagram followers.
If you’re wondering why Bella Hadid made a random surprise guest appearance on Yellowstone as Travis’s girlfriend, well, that’s a pretty good question. But we’ve also got a pretty good answer.
Bella Hadid’s current boyfriend, Adan Banuelos, is a cowboy and horse-trainer in real life—and he also made a cameo in season 5, episode 13 of Yellowstone, as one of the dudes playing in Travis’s strip poker game. Since the duo have been dating in the last year and change, she’s shown up at all sorts of rodeo and horse-riding events, including at the 2024 American Performance Horseman competition that was held in Arlington, Texas back in March.
In addition to her Western swing, Hadid has also begun dabbling in acting. While she’s an experienced model and has previously appeared in music videos, she made her TV debut back in 2022 when she played a character named Lena in the third season of Hulu’s acclaimed series Ramy.
We know that Taylor Sheridan is good to his actors—maybe we’ll see her again in one of his shows soon?
