Ariana Grande and former dancer Ricky Alvarez’s recent romantic reunion is “the true deal,” a source exclusively tells Us Weekly.
“Ricky is way from a rebound,” the insider says, noting that Grande, 33, and her last boyfriend, Wicked costar Ethan Slater, broke up “long before the general public knew about it.”
Us previously confirmed in June that Grande and Slater, 34, ended their two-year relationship. Inside weeks, rumors surfaced that the pop star rekindled her past romance with Alvarez, 35, after he attended several of her recent concert events.
“They’re still newly dating, but because there’s loads of history there, they were capable of fall back right into a relationship organically,” the insider adds of Grande and Alvarez. “They’re the true deal.”
Alvarez, who previously danced backup during Grande’s Honeymoon Tour from 2014 to 2015, began dating the Oscar nominee later that yr.
“We’re blissful,” Grande succinctly told Billboard in 2016. “I’m a really blissful girl. I even have a healthy life without delay, and I feel that’s all anyone cares to know. The top.”
Ricky Alvarez and Ariana Grande spotted in Tokyo in April 2016. Jun Sato/GC Images
Grande and Alvarez’s romance, nevertheless, ended later that yr.
“Like all breakup, Ariana and Ricky’s wasn’t easy [in 2016], but they were so young,” the source adds. “Once the initial heartbreak wore off, they were capable of grow to be friends again and stayed in contact over time. There have been times they were closer than others, but that mutual respect and gratitude remained a relentless.”
Ariana Grande romantically reunited along with her former boyfriend Ricky Alvarez nearly 10 years after they initially went their separate ways. Us Weekly confirmed in July 2026 that Grande and Alvarez rekindled their past romance on the heels of the Oscar nominee’s recent breakup from Wicked costar Ethan Slater. “They’ve all the time shared an in depth bond,” a […]
Following their split, Grande mentioned the photographer on her 2018 hit “Thank U Next,” alongside other exes Big Sean, Pete Davidson and the late Mac Miller.
“Wrote some songs about Ricky / Now I listen and laugh,” she sings about Alvarez.
On the time, Grande revealed that Alvarez approved of the lyrical shout-out.
“Ricky loved it. He was proud. But Ricky was like, ‘Why did I get the worst line?’ And I used to be like, ‘What do you mean?’” Grande said on the Zach Sang Show in 2019. “He was like, ‘Everyone else’s line is so nice, and mine is like, ‘Man, f*** him, he’s trash.’ I used to be like, I could have said that. I could’ve said, ‘Wrote some songs about Ricky, never mind he’s trash.’ … But I didn’t. I said, ‘Now I listen and laugh’ ‘cause it didn’t work out.”
Ariana Grande continued to tease fans about her relationship status with ex-boyfriend Ricky Alvarez during her Everlasting Sunshine Tour. Viral video footage shot during opening night on the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Monday, July 13, once more showed Grande, 33, make an intriguing lyrical change to her 2018 single “Thank U, Next.” On the […]
Amid their reunion, Alvarez has joined Grande on the road for her Everlasting Sunshine Tour, where she’s swapped his “Thank U Next” mention to praise his support.
“Ariana may be very blissful that Ricky has joined her on tour,” the insider tells Us. “They’ve loads of fun together and are all the time laughing backstage and through downtime. It’s an easy relationship — identical to it was back within the day. He’s tight with just a few of her backup dancers, too.”
The source further reveals that Grande’s family “all the time liked” Alvarez and are equally “glad to have him around again.”
“The identical goes for Ricky’s family. They’re all beginning to reconnect,” the source notes.