Above all else, it seems like Ariana Grande is still grateful for one of her exes: Ricky Alvarez. Not only is the dancer and photographer name-dropped in her chart-topping track, “thank u, next,” but he was also there during one of the Grammy winner’s most infamous moments.
Though they only dated for a little more than a year back in 2015, they’ve seemingly remained tight over the years…and they may even be back on again. On July 14, People broke the news of their rekindled romance, saying Ari and Ricky are “taking things very slowly,” adding, “They’re not jumping into anything serious right away, but Ari is happy to have him back in her life.”
With this latest update (and those interesting “thank u, next” lyric swaps...), now seems like a fab time to go down memory lane and relive Ariana Grande and Ricky Alvarez’s decade-long friendship.
April 2014
Ricky officially becomes one of Ariana’s backup dancers when he joins her for her debut live performance of “Problem” at the Radio Disney Music Awards. He’d eventually go on to perform with her on the Honeymoon Tour, aka her first arena tour, in 2015.
December 2014
Ari drops her cute, laid-back music video for “Santa Tell Me,” which features a bunch of her dancers, including Ricky.
June 2015
Ricky and Ariana sparked romance rumors when they reportedly shared a kiss onstage during her headlining performance at New York City Pride.
July 2015
Ah, yes, who could forget the infamous Donutgate? Ari is so far removed from this by now, but at the time, it was one of her first major scandals. TL;DR: She and Ricky hit up a doughnut shop, Ari joked that she “hated America,” and then licked one of the doughnuts on display.
February 2016
The pair attends The Creators Party, Presented by Spotify, at Cicada in L.A. on February 13, 2016.
May 2016
Dangerous Woman drops, and Arianators are convinced that there are a few songs inspired by the singer’s romance with Ricky, including “Moonlight,” “True Love,” and “Knew Better / Forever Boy.”
Ari even opened up about their relationship during her Billboard cover story that same month, saying, “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.”
July 2016
Ari fueled breakup rumors when she cryptically tweeted, “life is wild and change is fucking fantastic.”
According to several reports, she seemingly confirmed their split when she liked a post that said, “forever boy canceled.” (aka…a song that is widely speculated to be inspired by Ricky. Ouch.)
November 2018
Ariana drops “thank u, next,” in which she name-drops a few of her exes within the first verse. There’s Big Sean, Mac Miller, Pete Davidson, and, you guessed it, Ricky! On the track, she sings, “Wrote some songs about Ricky / Now I listen and laugh.”
Ricky jokingly reacted to his line when the song dropped, posting an Instagram Story where he zoomed into his face as Ari sang his name.
“Nothing but gratitude,” he wrote on a separate slide, adding, “Thank you, next…(those songs are fire tho… you’re welcome).” Ari reposted his sentiment, adding, “Oh for sure…ty next.”
And for the sake of how iconic this music video is, just leaving this here:
December 2018
Ariana released another song, “imagine,” ahead of her thank u, next album drop in December 2018, and Ricky reportedly designed the single art.
January 2019
Ricky attended Ariana’s “7 Rings” release party and posted a pic from the festivities. According to Us Weekly, the singer commented, “the best team. see y’all on touuuur.”
February 2019
Speaking of “thank u, next,” Ariana promoted the album with a lengthy interview on The Zach Sang Show, where she discussed Ricky’s initial reaction to the lyric.
“Ricky loved it. He was proud. But Ricky was like, ‘Why did I get the worst line?’ And I was like, ‘What do you mean?’ He was like, ‘Everyone else’s line is so nice, and mine is like, ‘Man, fuck him, he’s trash.’ I was like, I could have said that,” she recalled. “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.’”
More on this lyric later…
June 2026
Okay, it’s later. Almost seven years, to be exact!
During her June 26 Eternal Sunshine Tour stop at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, Ari switched her “thank u, next” lyrics about Ricky to “Wrote some songs about Ricky / And they still really slap.”
Fan account @infoari dropped some sneak pics of Ariana sharing a meal with Ricky at De Nada Cantina in Austin the day after she switched up her lyrics.
However, TMZ sources debunked rumors that the pair got back together, telling the outlet, “Ari has friends in Austin for her birthday—she turned 33 today—and Ricky is one of the friends.”
A separate source also told People, “They’ve been hanging out recently.”
July 2026
The following month, TMZ dropped pics of Ricky and Ari shopping at a Whole Foods in South Florida, where he spent the Fourth of July with her and her family.
A few days later, she changed that “thank u, next” lyric yet again during her July 7 show in Atlanta, singing, “Wrote some songs about Ricky / Know he’s still got my back.”
Truer words!!
Cut to a week later, and those lyrics evolve yet again. This time: “Wrote some songs about Ricky / We always find our way back.”
Soon after, People confirmed that the exes were back on, with a source saying, “Ariana has always considered Ricky a friend. She’s not held ill will against him [since their split]. Ricky is dependable, trustworthy and very supportive. Ariana feels she can be herself around Ricky.”
When Ari dropped her album petal on July 31, fans were convinced some of the lyrics were about her rekindled romance with Ricky. More specifically, Arianators side-eyed “bad thing (bunny hop),” on which she sings:
“You know you make a real good boyfriend / In my dreams, and in real life / Meet you by the staircase where we / Fell in love, let’s do it twice.”
She hasn’t confirmed the meaning behind the song, if at all.
August 2026
Ari seemingly confirmed that she and Ricky are back on in a photo dump, where she posted two pics cozying up to her former (err, rekindled?) flame.
Neither of them has publicly commented on the nature of their relationship, but stay tuned for more updates on this developing story!!
