A New Flame? Lady Gaga Photographed Kissing Audio Engineer Dan Horton in L.A. During Brunch Date

Nearly six months after splitting from Christian Carino, Lady Gaga was photographed kissing Daniel Horton during a brunch date in L.A.

By Tomás Mier

and

Brianne Tracy

Published on July 30, 2019 08:00 AM

Lady Gaga appears to be moving on after splitting from ex-fiancé Christian Carino earlier this year.

On Sunday, Gaga, 33, was photographed kissing her monitor engineer Dan Horton, 37, during a brunch date at Granville restaurant in Studio City, California.

Multiple onlookers tell PEOPLE exclusively that Gaga and Horton appeared to be more than friends and were seen smooching multiple times while dining. In one photo, Gaga is seen standing and bending over to kiss Horton as he sits at their table at the L.A. hot spot.

Lady Gaga and Dan Horton. TheImageDirect.com

A fellow diner says the singer — who “looked amazing” in black cutoff shorts, a black bodysuit and boots — remained low-key at the eatery and turned down photos with fans who approached her as she and Horton left. “She seemed confident and in a good place,” adds the diner.

Another source says the budding couple dined for about an hour and were deep in conversation. “They were kissing as they spoke really close up,” says the source, who adds that Gaga and Horton popped by Lemonade to pick up a couple beverages before heading back to Granville.

“Ironically, she had a table in the front near the sidewalk, so she was clearly okay with being seen,” adds the diner. “She seemed very happy when interacting with the guy she was with.”

Though the two were spotted kissing at Granville, another source who spotted the couple at Lemonade says the two were busy chatting but refrained from PDA as they ordered drinks at the cafeteria-style chain.

According to his LinkedIn page, Horton has worked as a monitor engineer for the singer since November 2018. He is also the owner of Audio Engineering Consulting Group, according to the site, and has previously worked with other big-name artists such as Camila Cabello, Bruno Mars and Justin Timberlake.

Horton, who is Nashville-based, was previously married to actress Autumn Guzzardi, who is currently starring in the off-Broadway musical Rock of Ages. The two tied the knot in 2013, and Guzzardi’s most recent Instagram post of the two is from 2016.

Horton has been working with Gaga since before she started her Las Vegas residency. Jerry Harvey Audio, which creates in-ear monitors for singers, shared a photo in March taken by Horton of some of Gaga’s audio equipment.

“Who’s excited for @ladygaga and #LG6 ?” the account posted, attributing the image to Horton. “Here are a few of her JH16 IEMs.”

One Gaga fan account shared a since-deleted Instagram Story from Horton’s now-private account, tying the “Bad Romance” singer to the audio engineer.

“Dan Horton, an audio mixer who worked with Gaga as recently as Enigma, apparently posted this on his Instagram story today and deleted it shortly after,” the account tweeted. “Do you think it could be related to Gaga’s upcoming music?”

PEOPLE confirmed exclusively in February that Gaga and Carino called off their engagement shortly before the Grammy Awards.

“It just didn’t work out. Relationships sometimes end,” a source said at the time. “There’s no long dramatic story.”

25th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards - Inside — Lady Gaga and Christian Carino. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Turner

After her split, rumors of a romance between the singer and her A Star Is Born costar Bradley Cooper kicked into overdrive following their intimate performance of “Shallow” at the 2019 Academy Awards.

The Gaga-Cooper romance rumors only intensified when the 44-year-old actor split from his girlfriend of four years, Irina Shayk, in June, though sources cautioned at the time that the buzz about the costars was simply fan speculation.

“He has a huge and overwhelming connection to Gaga but whether it becomes a real love story in their lives for all the world to see is premature,” an entertainment source previously told PEOPLE.