Ariana Grande’s relationship with Ricky Álvarez first took shape in 2015, when the professional dancer joined the pop superstar on the road for her Honeymoon Tour.
By May 2016, Grande was openly content with where things stood. “We’re happy,” she told Billboard at the time, adding, “I’m a very happy girl. I have a healthy life right now, and I think that’s all anyone cares to know. The end.”
The romance, however, didn’t last long. Grande and Álvarez parted ways in July 2016, bringing their brief but memorable relationship to an end just a few months later.
Years later, the former couple appeared to be on friendly terms. In June 2026, Grande and Álvarez were spotted together during a group lunch at De Nada Cantina in Austin.
The reunion buzz grew even louder the following day, when Grande playfully updated a lyric in her 2018 breakup anthem “thank u, next.” Instead of singing the usual line after “Wrote some songs about Ricky” — “now I listen and laugh” — she told the Austin crowd, “They still really slap.”
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Weeks later, she was back at it again, this time singing at her July 13 concert, “We always find our way back.”
Soon after, he found his way onto her grid, with Grande appearing to soft launch their romance on Instagram July 27 ahead of the release of her eighth album Petal.
As she captioned the post which included a clip of herself clinking olives with Álvarez, “petal season continued …….. !”