Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez and Nelly and Ashanti are just some of the lovers who’ve found their way back to each other after over a decade of separation, and it looks like Ariana Grande and Ricky Alvarez are joining the club. It really looks like the Eternal Sunshine singer has gotten back together with her ex-boyfriend from 2015. In a time when galaxy pants and high ponytails ruled the world, he was her backup dancer for the Honeymoon tour. They began dating after Grande and Big Sean broke up in 2015, and even though their relationship was short-lived, he mattered enough to get a name drop in “Thank U, Next.” At first, he was remembered as the ex who she laughs at, but now, he’s the one she’s giving another chance.
Maybe she was bored, or maybe she just wanted us all to remember donutgate (he was in the video); either way, Ricky and Ari are so back. Here’s how we got here.
April 26, 2014: Grande debuts her new song “Problem” at the Radio Disney Music Awards, where she dances with Alvarez for the first time.
February 20, 2015: Grande and Alvarez begin the rehearsals for her second world tour, the Honeymoon Tour. She introduces all of the dancers to her fans in a YouTube video called “about a week or so // crew saying hi (5days)”. Everyone, including Grande, cheers “Ricky!” as they point at him wearing a red beanie.
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March 11, 2015: Alvarez gets emotional in Grande’s vlog, shedding tears over his gratitude for being a part of the tour.
June 28, 2015: She kisses him while singing Madonna’s “Vogue” at the NYC Pride: Dance on the Pier concert for Pride month.
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July 7, 2015: It’s donut-gate. TMZ releases CCTV footage of Grande and Alvarez in a donut shop in Los Angeles on the Fourth of July, where Grande licks a donut and says, “I fucking hate Americans, I hate America” in between kisses with Alvarez. This incident confirms their relationship.
July 10, 2015: Grande apologizes for donut-gate in a video, calling her behavior “ugly.”
May 19, 2016: Grande gives a small insight into her relationship with Alvarez to Billboard: “We’re happy. 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.”
May 20, 2016: Dangerous Woman, Grande’s third album, comes out, and the opening track, “Moonlight,” is about Alvarez. “That’s what Ricky called her one night. I think it was after their first kiss,” Victoria Monet, Grande’s co-writer, tells Billboard. “He waited to kiss her for a long time, and she was really impressed. He’s such a gentleman, and the song is a great little bookmark of the start of their relationship.”
July 26, 2016: Teen Vogue reports the couple breaks up after a year of dating.
November 30, 2018: “Thank U, Next” shouts out all of Grande’s exes, including Alvarez: “Wrote some songs about Ricky, now I listen and laugh.”
December 11, 2018: She shuts down rumors that she and Alvarez got back together and confirms their friendship in an Instagram comment: “We’re friends, everyone take a big ol breather.”
February 9, 2019: Grande jokes how Alvarez told her he got the worst line in “Thank U, Next,” feeling like she called their relationship “trash.” “I could’ve said that: ‘I wrote some songs about Ricky, never mind he’s trash,” she sings on the Zach Sang Show. “But I didn’t. I said ‘now I listen and laugh.’”
June 8, 2026: Grande and her boyfriend, Ethan Slater, break up after three years of dating.
June 24, 2026: In a surprise lyric change, Grande gives a little nod to her relationship with Alvarez at her Eternal Sunshine stop in Austin: “Wrote some songs about Ricky, now they still kinda slap.”
June 26, 2026: Fans spot the two getting lunch together in Austin, and a source tells People the two have been “hanging out” recently. Later that evening, she changes the lyric to “I know he still got my back.” Alvarez also shakes Ari’s dad’s hand during the show.
July 13, 2026: In her latest lyric change, she seemingly confirms the relationship at her Brooklyn show: “We always find our way back.”
July 17, 2026: TMZ catches the couple cuddling in Central Park while walking her dog.
July 19, 2026: Alvarez dances with Frankie Grande, Ariana’s brother, during her Brooklyn concert, receiving the family blessing.
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