After Ariana Grande’s recent breakup with her Wicked co-star Ethan Slater, the pop star has been seen out and about with former boyfriend Ricky Alvarez. Although the pair was observed sharing a meal in Texas and running errands together in Florida, not everyone is convinced a romantic reconciliation is on the horizon. Skeptics suggest it might even be a calculated PR move.
In light of these sightings, an expert has stepped forward with insights into Grande and Alvarez’s interactions during a visit to Whole Foods.
Inbaal Honigman, a well-known body language analyst, has been lending her expertise to the media for over twenty years. Her analyses have been featured across various platforms, such as Big Brother’s Little Brother, Elle Magazine, and talkSPORT radio.
Commenting for Casino.org, Honigman observed in a conversation with Showbiz Cheat Sheet, “The photos of Ariana and Ricky’s grocery outing do not suggest romance. Instead, they hint at a complex relationship between the two. There are clear indicators they are not romantically involved: in none of the images are they facing one another, their body language isn’t synchronized, and there’s an absence of mutual gaze.”
“When two people are romantically linked or passionately involved, they naturally lean into each other. Communication between them would be marked by simultaneous emotions, such as laughing or frowning together, showcasing a shared connection.”
Honigman continued, “Here, we have chaos. The messy, misaligned, chaotic body language screams that this is a setup … both Ariana and Ricky move in such different ways to one another, as to suggest that there is no emotional connection between them at all. When examining the body language used by Grande and Alvarez during this Whole Foods trip, their feet are all over the place, their glances rarely meet, and each of them wears an entirely different facial expression. They’re not in a relationship.”
The expert broke down what she says is really going on by examining their demeanors, noting, “Ricky is confused. His facial expression befuddled, he flashes his teeth, as his dropped jaw and parted lips spell uncertainty. His furrowed brow further determines that he’s not sure what they’re even doing there. Why are they at the shops instead of ordering food? Ricky is unsure … This show of productivity would appear to suggest that Ricky himself doesn’t know why he’s there with Ariana, and what purpose this shopping trip serves.”
As for Ariana, Honigman pointed out that she “constantly moves, seen moving shopping bags from cart to car, she is wearing an eerie, fixed expression, like a haunted doll. Ariana is smiling, but the smile is excessive for the occasion. There’s no call for such joy while nipping to the shops. Every muscle in her face is taut, lips stretched, eyebrows raised, teeth gleaming. In all of the photos from that scene, her smile never drops or changes. It remains fixed to her face in an unnatural way.
“This smile is frozen, which makes it appear inauthentic, and in addition, she’s not smiling at any specific person, which adds to the eerie nature of the smile. She’s not looking at Ricky, so who is this smile for? Who is Ariana wearing this expression for? It would appear that Ariana’s faux chipper smile, paired with her leadership stance, is constructed especially for the cameras.”
Honigman concluded that “The whole trip is fake, and is meant to create a specific impression. Grande is the one in the lead, stepping ahead of Alvarez at times, giving instructions and leading with action, which lets us know that the shopping trip was her idea. Her feet move non-stop. She never pauses to discuss the grocery-loading strategies with Alvarez.
“Ariana Grande has orchestrated a trip to the shops that shows how happy and domestic she is, recruiting Ricky Alvarez as her helper, in order to send out a message. She’s letting someone know that she’s moved on, even though this is not the truth. Ricky is not there as a partner, but more as an employee, following instructions and falling in line.”
Showbiz Cheat Sheet acknowledges that conditions and cultures can impact body language and is sensitive to all backgrounds.