To those who are familiar with their long-time friendship, here’s yet another piece of evidence that Ricky Álvarez is Ariana Grande’s ” forever boy”.
In fact, the 33-year-old gave a hint of their past together by being seen with her ex-backup dance partner, with whom she had been dating from 2015 to 2016.
Ariana Grande and Ricky Álvarez Spark Reunion Rumors
Ariana Grande is preparing to put her eighth full-length album Petal out into the world, and just released a video of her and Álvarez drinking some olive water while sharing the last couple of hours. She posted the picture on the Instagram Stories and wrote: “petal season continued …….. !”
It seems that Ariana Grande has finally moved on from the pain of breaking things off with the actor, her real-life and movie-life “Wicked” partner, Ethan Slater. She’s been having a good time around Ricky Álvarez for several weeks, even acknowledging the rumors of their reunion on her Eternal Sunshine tour.
Ariana Hints at Ricky Álvarez During Her Tour
In her performance of “thank u next,” a breakup anthem whose lyrics reflect the different phases of relationships in her life, the 26-year-old has been changing her lines about a past lover she calls Ricky so the audience gets to find out just who it is through the lyrics she is singing.
On her June 24 concert held in Austin, the singer did not mention it, but fans noticed a change as she sang, “And they still really slap,” for the second stanza.
Moreover, the lyrics changed at Ariana Grande’s birthday concert in Austin, Texas, on June 26, and she finished the line, “I know he still got my back.” Then it was yet another change on July 13, in Brooklyn, New York; she said, “We always find our way back.”
During the entire tour, Álvarez has been a very supportive presence for her, attending almost every show and even hanging out with the singer’s parents, Ed Butera and Joan Grande, at some of the concerts that they were at.
Ariana Grande Opens Up About Relationship Speculation
Nonetheless, she made a couple of mentions of her ex- boyfriend on social media but did not go all out in confirming that it was their breakup, as that is how her relationship with RÁ turned out after a year in the public eye.
She does not care for public relations on the social media platform, yet in the past year or so, she’s admitted it hurts to be subjected to personal relationship news speculation.
“There is always going to be a painful feeling,” she said to The Hollywood Reporter in February 2025. “Also, I know that I do not live only in pain; I am walking along my path as an artist, and even if someone tries to do something to me, I just try to protect myself so as not to turn against anything that was created.”
