Ethan Slater reportedly found out Ariana Grande was back with ex-boyfriend Ricky Alvarez through friends. <\/p>\n
\u201cAriana hasn\u2019t told Ethan specifically, but mutual friends have told him that she is now dating Ricky again,\u201d an insider told the Daily Mail<\/a> on Friday.<\/p>\n Other sources told the outlet that the pop star has always kept in touch with Alvarez, but insisted she \u201cnever crossed the line while she was with Ethan.\u201d <\/p>\n Ethan Slater reportedly found out Ariana Grande (both pictured in January 2025) was back with ex-boyfriend Ricky Alvarez through friends. Getty Images for National Board of Review<\/p>\n \u201cAriana hasn\u2019t told Ethan specifically, but mutual friends have told him that she is now dating Ricky again,\u201d an insider told the Daily Mail on Friday. Getty Images for National Board of Review<\/p>\n \u201cIt was important to her to still be loosely in contact with him as they still had mutual friends,\u201d a source explained. <\/p>\n That same source claimed that the photographer is \u201cvery happy being back in her life and is looking for this second chance to be what he wanted the first time around.\u201d<\/p>\n As the exes are spotted together more and more<\/a>, a third source told the Daily Mail, \u201cAriana and Ricky are fully back in each other\u2019s lives and are together.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat ultimately drew her back was the comfort and familiarity they share,\u201d they continued. \u201cShe doesn\u2019t feel like she has to prove herself, and there\u2019s a level of trust that comes with knowing each other so well.\u201d<\/p>\n Another insider told the outlet that the singer was always in contact with Alvarez (seen above in April 2016) over the years, but \u201cnever crossed the line while she was with Ethan.\u201d GC Images<\/p>\n A third source claimed that the exes \u2014 who dated between 2015 and 2016 \u2014 are \u201cfully back in each other\u2019s lives and are together.\u201d (Pictured: Alvarez and Grande in February 2016.) John Shearer<\/p>\n However, the insider alleged that the duo \u2014 who dated briefly between 2015 and 2016 \u2014 aren\u2019t just \u201csimply picking up where they left off.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re revisiting the relationship with a different perspective, openly talking about what went wrong before and making a conscious effort to avoid repeating those mistakes,\u201d the source explained. \u201cThey\u2019re approaching the relationship with more maturity and a clearer understanding of each other. Which isn\u2019t usually Ariana\u2019s thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Page Six has reached out to reps for Grande and Slater for comment.<\/p>\n Grande, 33, and her former backup dancer, 35, first sparked reconciliation rumors<\/a> when they were spotted hanging out with friends at an Austin, Texas, restaurant in late June for the Grammy winner\u2019s birthday.<\/p>\n The duo sparked reconciliation rumors last month when they were spotted in Texas. They were then seen shopping together in Florida over Fourth of July weekend, as seen above. BACKGRID<\/p>\n However, a source told the Daily Mail that Grande and her former backup dancer aren\u2019t just \u201csimply picking up where they left off.\u201d BACKGRID<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tWant more celebrity and pop culture news?\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with Page Six Daily.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n They were then\u00a0photographed on a Whole Foods grocery run<\/a>\u00a0during the Fourth of July weekend in Grande\u2019s hometown of Boca Raton, Florida.<\/p>\n Adding more fuel to the rumors, the singer\u00a0made a pointed lyric change<\/a>\u00a0to her hit song \u201cThank U, Next\u201d during her \u201cEternal Sunshine\u201d tour that ignited her fanbase.<\/p>\n The 2018 tune \u2014 during which she name-drops several of her\u00a0former boyfriends<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 features a lyric about Alvarez that originally goes, \u201cWrote some songs about Ricky \/ Now I listen and laugh.\u201d<\/p>\n But during the July 13 show at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, a\u00a0viral social media clip<\/a>\u00a0showed that she sang, \u201cWrote some songs about Ricky \/ We always find our way back.\u201d<\/p>\n Grande and Alvarez began making headlines just weeks after news of her split from Ethan Slater<\/a> broke. <\/p>\n Grande\u2019s budding relationship with Alvarez came on the heels of her breakup with Slater (pictured above in happier times.) michelleyeoh_official<\/p>\n Last month, a source told us the former couple (pictured in 2024) \u201cbroke up several months ago but they\u2019ve remained friends since then and have nothing but respect and admiration for one another.\u201d Getty Images<\/p>\n On June 6, Page Six confirmed that the \u201cWicked\u201d co-stars quietly split after three years of dating.<\/p>\n \u201cAriana and Ethan broke up several months ago but they\u2019ve remained friends since then and have nothing but respect and admiration for one another,\u201d a source told us at the time. \u201cThis wasn\u2019t a decision they took lightly but realized they were better off friends than in a committed relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAriana is feeling really happy and focused on the next chapter with her \u2018Eternal Sunshine\u2019 tour and the upcoming release of her album \u2018Petal,\u2019\u201d the source added.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t