Ariana Grande and Ricky Alvarez are Instagram-official! The “thank u, next” singer posted a photo dump to her Instagram account, sprinkling in a number of photos with Alvarez, whom she’s recently rekindled her relationship with. The pair dated back in 2016, and now, 10 years later, they’ve “found their way back,” as Grande put it during a recent concert. Keep reading for more information.
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Ariana Grande Posts Ricky Alvarez On Instagram
Grande started teasing her romance revival by changing the lyrics of her song, Thank U, Next while performing during her Eternal Sunshine tour. While the original lyrics are "Wrote some songs about Ricky / Now I listen and laugh," the 33-year-old has since changed them a few times. She first sang, "Wrote some songs about Ricky / And they still kinda slap."
Later that same week, she sang, "Wrote some songs about Ricky / I know he’s still got my back." During her Jul 13, 2026 concert in Brooklyn, she took it one step further, singing, "Wrote some songs about Ricky/ We always find our way back."
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Now, she's posting on social media with him. Her August 12th Instagram post included photos of her dogs, mirror selfies, cityscape pictures, and shots with her friends, but fans were really only paying attention to the two photos she posted with Ricky Alvarez: a mirror selfie of their matching outfits and another mirror selfie, this one blurry, but clearly showing Ariana with her arms wrapped around her former backup dancer.
A source speaking exclusively to People revealed that Grande and Alvarez are indeed back together, but aren't in any sort of rush, and are "taking things very slowly."
"Ariana has always considered Ricky a friend," the insider shared. "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."
"They're not jumping into anything serious right away, but Ari is happy to have him back in her life," the source added.
This comes less than a month after TMZ reported that Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater's controversial relationship had come to an end "quietly" a few months earlier.
Social Media Reactions
Across social media platforms, fans couldn't be happier for Ariana. "Finally someone cute Jesus Christ what was that Spongebob boy about?" one person wrote, referring to her 2-year relationship with her Wicked co-star, Ethan Slater.
"That man is right where he wanna be," wrote one user.
"I want Ricky to be endgame bro, I really do!" posted one fan
"Matching fits too!" wrote another. "So cute!"
"They are so cute together," agreed another.
"They look so good together," wrote the next.
"I'm so happy they're back together!" said a final user.
