![EXCLUSIVE: Irina Shayk and her daughter Lea Cooper are seen taking a stroll in New York City. 23 Nov 2022 Pictured: Irina Shayk. Photo credit: ZapatA/MEGA TheMegaAgency.com +1 888 505 6342 (Mega Agency TagID: MEGA920653_001.jpg) [Photo via Mega Agency]](https://preprod.hollywoodlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/irina-shayk-daughter-lea-nyc-hold-hands-mega-01.jpg?quality=100&w=330)
There was once a time when you couldn’t get Kanye West to smile, but Ye, 44, was grinning from ear-to-ear on June 10 when he was spotted in Malibu after returning from his romantic getaway with Irina Shayk. This new romance comes less than four months after Kim Kardashian filed the papers to divorce Kanye, and while some might be intimidated to date Kim’s soon-to-be-ex, Irina was not. “Irina was thrilled when Kanye reached out to her asking her to hang out,” a source close to the model tells HollywoodLife. “She’s excited and she’s been ready to move on and find someone.”
Ye isn’t the only one coming into this budding romance after a high-profile split. Irina and Bradley Cooper called it quits in 2019 – and she is so ready to start the next chapter in her life. “She doesn’t want to be known as just someone who’s associated [with] Bradley Cooper,” the source tells HollywoodLife. “This is a Hollywood merger of a new Hollywood power couple in her eyes, of Kanye and Irina, and it feels big to her for her career, but she also likes Kanye. She’s ready for this.”
Irina and Kanye have known each other for about a decade, having worked together first on the music video for his song, “Power” (off of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy). She also modeled for his Yeezy line during Paris Fashion Week in 2012. At the time, she was involved with Cristiano Ronaldo, and after splitting from the soccer icon in 2015, she began dating Bradley. On June 9, TMZ reported that Kanye and Irina were “smiling and strolling” around the grounds of a hotel in Provence, France, and were 100 percent “together.”
Kanye reached out to Irina “about a month ago,” a source told HollywoodLife after the initial romance report. They started talking and hit it off, especially since they both have a shared interest in fashion. Kanye wants to be with someone who “knows that world and is creative and well respected on their own in it,” the insider added. Irina also likes that Kanye is “well respected and understands fashion.” The source said that at the time, this romance is “nothing serious yet,” but they’re enjoying spending time together.
As for Kim’s take on this new romance? She “kind of feels relief that Kanye is starting to date,” a source told HollywoodLife. At this time, she’s not bothered by the new romance and she wants her future ex-husband to be happy.