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THE RUNDOWN<\/strong><\/p>\n Nearly a decade after ending their relationship<\/a>, Ariana Grande<\/a> and Ricky Alvarez are back in the public eye.<\/p>\n The former couple recently sparked reconciliation rumors after they were spotted spending time together in Texas and Florida during Grande\u2019s Eternal Sunshine<\/a> Tour. Grande also made multiple changes<\/a> to the Ricky lyric in \u201cThank U, Next,\u201d prompting fans to wonder whether the pair had rekindled their romance.<\/p>\n On July 14, People<\/em><\/a> and TMZ<\/a> confirmed that they were back on\u2014but taking things slowly. \u201cAriana has always considered Ricky a friend,\u201d a source told People.<\/em> \u201cShe\u2019s not held ill will against him [since their split]. Ricky is dependable, trustworthy and very supportive. Ariana feels she can be herself around Ricky.\u201d<\/p>\n Grande and Alvarez first met when he joined her as a backup dancer<\/a> on her 2015 Honeymoon Tour. They dated for about a year before separating in 2016, but have maintained a friendly relationship ever since.<\/p>\n Below, a full timeline of everything we know about Ariana Grande and Ricky Alvarez\u2019s relationship.<\/p>\n Grande and Alvarez met while he worked as a backup dancer<\/a> on her Honeymoon Tour<\/em>. They began dating that year.<\/p>\n Grande briefly spoke about their relationship in a Billboard<\/em> cover story<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re happy,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m a very happy girl. I have a healthy life right now, and I think that\u2019s all anyone cares to know. The end.\u201d<\/p>\n The story also included comments from Grande\u2019s friend Victoria Mon\u00e9t, who shared that \u201cMoonlight\u201d was inspired by the beginning of Grande and Alvarez\u2019s relationship.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what Ricky called her one night,\u201d Mon\u00e9t said. \u201cI think it was after their first kiss. He waited to kiss her for a long time, and she was really impressed. He\u2019s such a gentleman, and the song is a great little bookmark of the start of their relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n Multiple outlets reported<\/a> that Grande and Alvarez had ended their relationship after about a year together.<\/p>\n Grande referenced Alvarez in her hit single \u201cThank U, Next,\u201d singing, \u201cWrote some songs about Ricky \/ Now I listen and laugh.\u201d<\/p>\n After the song\u2019s release, Alvarez shared<\/a> videos of himself reacting to the lyric on Instagram Stories.<\/p>\n \u201cNothing but gratitude,\u201d he wrote. \u201cThank you, next\u2026 (those songs are fire tho\u2026 you\u2019re welcome).\u201d<\/p>\n Grande reposted his Stories and joked about the lyric herself.<\/p>\n \u201cHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH IM SORRY U GOT THE WORST LINE. It was meant v lovingly.\u201d<\/p>\n When fans later speculated that the pair had reunited after they interacted on Instagram, Grande shut down the rumors herself in the comments of one of Alvarez\u2019s posts.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re friends everyone take a big ol breather,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n Years later, Grande and Alvarez were photographed together in Austin, Texas, ahead of one of her Eternal Sunshine Tour stops. Photos<\/a> circulating online showed them dining with a group while Grande celebrated her birthday in the city.<\/p>\n According to TMZ, sources familiar with the situation said Alvarez was one of several friends spending time with Grande and that the outing was purely platonic. People<\/em><\/a> also reported that the pair had \u201cbeen hanging out recently.\u201d<\/p>\n During her Austin concerts, Grande also made noticeable changes<\/a> to the Ricky lyric in \u201cThank U, Next.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier in the week, she sang, \u201cWrote some songs about Ricky \/ And they still kinda slap.\u201d At another performance, she changed the line again, singing, \u201cWrote some songs about Ricky \/ I know he\u2019s still got my back.\u201d<\/p>\n Over Fourth of July weekend, Grande and Alvarez were photographed<\/a> shopping together at a Whole Foods in Boca Raton, Florida, before heading to celebrate the holiday with Grande\u2019s family, according to TMZ.<\/p>\n The outing came after Grande wrapped three sold-out Eternal Sunshine Tour shows in nearby Sunrise.<\/p>\n The following day, People<\/em><\/a> published additional details about their friendship, citing a source who said Alvarez has been joining Grande for portions of her tour.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s having a great time on tour. She loves having close friends join her for parts of the tour,\u201d the source said. \u201cRicky has always been a friend and confidant. She really trusts him. He has such great, positive energy, makes her laugh, and she enjoys spending time with him.\u201d<\/p>\n The source also addressed Grande\u2019s life following her breakup from Ethan Slater.<\/p>\n \u201cHer relationship with Ethan is 100 percent over. She\u2019s focused on her tour and spending time with the people who have always been there for her,\u201d the source said. \u201cAriana is having the best time reconnecting with fans and loves being onstage.\u201d<\/p>\n Grande fueled reconciliation rumors<\/a> herself a week later on July 13. She changed the Ricky lyric of \u201cThank U, Next\u201d again during her Brooklyn show, singing, \u201cWrote some songs about Ricky \/ We always find our way back.\u201d<\/p>\n Hours later on July 14, sources confirmed to People<\/em><\/a> and TMZ<\/a> that they were officially dating again. The insiders told both outlets that they were taking things very slowly.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re not jumping into anything serious right away, but Ari is happy to have him back in her life,\u201d a source told People. <\/em>The insider added that they \u201chave a similar, smart, dry sense of humor.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.elle.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" THE RUNDOWN Ariana Grande and Ricky Alvarez dated from 2015 to 2016 after meeting on her Honeymoon Tour. The former couple has remained friends in the years since their breakup. On July 14, People and TMZ revealed the pair is dating again. Nearly a decade after ending their relationship, Ariana Grande and Ricky Alvarez are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2502027,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25177],"tags":[441131,276609,493060,285977,466866,285684,443346,493059,488699,436397],"class_list":["post-2502026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrities","tag-collection-celebrity-relationship-timelines-2026","tag-content-type-news-explainer","tag-contentid-af45d2bf-5834-4916-bb13-9bc516789640","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-us","tag-read_time-4","tag-shorttitle-ariana-grande-and-ricky-alvarezs-full-timeline","tag-sponsored-false","tag-subsection-celebrity-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Ariana-Grande-and-Ricky-Alvarezs-Full-Relationship-History.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2502026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2502026"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2502026\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2502028,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2502026\/revisions\/2502028"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2502027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2502026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2502026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2502026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n2015<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n
May 2016<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n
July 2016<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n
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June 2026<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n
July 2026<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n