Ariana Grande’s Dating History: The Ricky Alvarez Reunion

Okay, we need to talk. Because just when we thought Ariana Grande’s love life had settled into a nice, quiet, post-divorce, post-Wicked-romance lull, the universe said “absolutely not” and handed us the twist nobody saw coming: she’s back with the OG. The dancer. The doughnut-shop boyfriend. Ricky Alvarez.

Current: Ricky Alvarez, Take Two

July 2026 – ???

Drama Meter: To Be Continued

Multiple outlets are reporting that Ariana and her former backup dancer-turned-photographer, Ricky Alvarez, have rekindled things — though sources are careful to note they’re “taking things slow.” Which, translated from celebrity-speak, usually means: it’s very real, but nobody wants to jinx it by screaming it from a rooftop yet.

Here’s the thing, though — this reunion has been brewing for weeks. Fans first clocked something suspicious when the two were spotted grabbing a meal together in Texas on Ariana’s birthday, and things got downright confirmed-feeling when she started tweaking the lyrics to her breakup anthem mid-tour, swapping the old dig at Ricky for a noticeably softer, more affectionate line about him still having her back. 

The timing is chef’s-kiss dramatic, too: this all comes just weeks after it was confirmed that Ariana’s nearly three-year relationship with her Wicked co-star, Ethan Slater, had quietly ended earlier in the year. She’s also gearing up to drop her eighth studio album, “Petal,” at the end of July — which includes a track widely read as being about the intensity of falling hard for someone. Coincidence? We don’t believe in those around here.

Ethan Slater

2023 – Early 2026

Drama Meter: Messy Beginning, Quiet End

Oh, we remember this one vividly because it was a lot. News broke in the summer of 2023 that Ariana was dating her Wicked co-star Ethan Slater — and it landed with maximum controversy, arriving just weeks after her split from husband Dalton Gomez and right as it emerged that Slater had filed for divorce from his wife of several years, Lilly Jay, whom he shared a young son with. The internet did not handle it gracefully. Team Ariana and Team Lilly formed overnight, and Slater’s estranged wife didn’t hold back in interviews, essentially painting herself and their family as collateral damage in someone else’s headline.

Despite the messy entrance, Ariana and Ethan seemed genuinely happy for a long stretch — showing up together at movie premieres, sneaking off to Disneyland with her mom and brother in tow, and reportedly inspiring more than one love song on her album “Eternal Sunshine.” But nearly three years in, it was confirmed in mid-2026 that the couple had quietly split months earlier. No public fireworks, no dramatic statement — just a relationship that had already ended by the time the world found out, which, if you ask us, tracks with how private Ariana’s tried to keep things since the Slater whirlwind began.

Dalton Gomez

2020 – 2023 (Married 2021)

Drama Meter: Amicable Exit

Before the Slater saga, there was the husband. Dalton Gomez, a real estate agent who mostly stayed miles away from the spotlight, was first spotted kissing Ariana in Los Angeles in 2020 — and honestly, for a while, this felt like her most low-key, grounded relationship yet. They got engaged by the end of that year and married in a tiny, intimate ceremony at her Montecito home in May 2021, with a guest list of under 20 people, Ariana in a strapless Vera Wang. It was the kind of wedding that felt refreshingly normal for someone this famous.

Which made the split sting a little more. The couple publicly celebrated their second anniversary in 2023, and then — barely two months later — news broke that they’d actually separated back in February. Both filed for divorce that September, and by October, insiders described the whole thing as unusually amicable, with a financial settlement reportedly handled with real care on both sides. Gomez has since scrubbed his social media entirely and moved on, reportedly linked to actress Maika Monroe.

Mikey Foster

2019 – 2020

Drama Meter: Just A Fling

Quick, low-key, and mostly confirmed via a music video — that’s the Mikey Foster era in a nutshell. The Social House member opened Ariana’s Sweetener World Tour in 2019, and things reportedly got romantic behind the scenes well before anyone caught on. Fans finally connected the dots when their joint single dropped alongside a video where the two share a very unplatonic kiss. They were later spotted hanging out with friends in Chicago, seemingly cementing what everyone already suspected.

But by the end of 2019 it had already fizzled, with insiders describing it less as a great love story and more as a fun fling that was never destined to go the distance. Ariana, apparently, liked him plenty — just not enough to stick around, because by the following year she’d already moved on to Gomez.

Pete Davidson

Summer 2018

Drama Meter: Whirlwind & Over

Ah yes. The relationship that basically broke the internet’s brain for an entire summer. Ariana and the SNL star went from “who?” to engaged in a matter of weeks in 2018, and the tabloid frenzy that followed was unmatched — matching tattoos, a viral lollipop photo, and a proposal that happened so fast even their own fans needed a minute to catch up. For a hot second, it genuinely felt like the whole internet had collectively decided this was true love.

And then, just as suddenly, it was over. The couple called off the engagement in October 2018, and Davidson addressed it himself on Weekend Update, keeping things surprisingly gracious about the whole thing. He later admitted the relationship had effectively ended not long after the devastating loss of Ariana’s ex Mac Miller that same September — which brings us to a much heavier chapter.

Mac Miller

2016 – 2018

Stability Scale: Honor & Respect

This one deserves a gentler tone, because it isn’t really “drama” — it’s a genuine loss. Ariana and Mac Miller first crossed paths back in 2013 when they collaborated on one of her early tracks, but the romance itself didn’t begin until years later, and by most accounts it was a real, tender relationship built on years of friendship first. They split in May 2018, and Ariana was open about still caring for him deeply even after the breakup.

Mac Miller passed away in September 2018. Ariana shared a heartfelt public tribute at the time, and has continued to honor his memory in interviews and music in the years since. We’re keeping this section focused on the relationship itself rather than the circumstances of his passing, out of respect for him and everyone who loved him.

Ricky Alvarez

2015 – 2016

Drama Meter: Quiet & Sweet

Long before he was the ex everyone was rooting for in 2026, Ricky Alvarez was just one of Ariana’s backup dancers, joining her team in 2014 and later touring with her on the Honeymoon Tour. Fans first suspected romance after an onstage kiss during a Pride performance, and the relationship was all but confirmed when the pair were photographed kissing outside a California doughnut shop in the middle of what tabloids affectionately dubbed “Doughnutgate” — yes, the same scandal where Ariana got caught licking pastries and grumbling about America. Ricky, to his credit, stuck by her through the whole PR mess.

Compared to the chaos that would follow in later relationships, this one was refreshingly drama-free. They dated for about a year, split quietly in mid-2016, and we should’ve seen coming — remained close, with Ricky even rejoining her team as a photographer and creative director for later tours. Turns out “we’re just really good friends” wasn’t always a breakup cliché with these two.

Big Sean

2014 – 2015

Drama Meter: Scheduling Conflict

Before Ricky, there was Big Sean — Ariana’s first genuinely high-profile romance, complete with a Grammys red carpet debut in 2015 and a handful of adorable joint performances of their collaborative songs. She gushed about him in interviews at the time, calling him one of the most amazing men she’d ever met, which is about as glowing as celebrity press-tour compliments get.

Unfortunately, glowing quotes don’t fix conflicting tour schedules. After around eight months together, the two called it quits, with their teams releasing a rare joint statement noting they still cared deeply for each other and were staying close. Ariana later admitted the breakup wasn’t even that hard, mostly because they’d been genuine friends the whole way through — a pattern, if you’re keeping score, that seems to repeat throughout this entire list.

Nathan Sykes

2013 – 2014

Drama Meter: Scandal Adjacent

This is the name that turned Ariana’s very first public breakup into an actual scandal. Nathan Sykes, of British boy band The Wanted, became a headline the moment Ariana’s then-boyfriend Jai Brooks publicly accused her of cheating on him with Sykes. The relationship with Nathan itself was brief and largely overshadowed by the drama surrounding how it began, and it fizzled out relatively quietly not long after.

Jai Brooks

2012 – 2014

Drama Meter: Public Feud

Every dating history has an origin story, and for Ariana, it’s Jai Brooks of Australian YouTube group The Janoskians. They started dating in August 2012, back when Ariana was still very much a Nickelodeon kid, and things went sideways in October 2013 when Jai took to Twitter with a lengthy, emotional accusation that she’d cheated on him with Nathan Sykes. Ariana pushed back publicly too, disputing his version of events and saying she felt she’d been threatened into staying. It was messy, it was public, and it was one of the first times fans watched a celebrity breakup unfold in real time, tweet by tweet.

And yet — because this is Ariana’s dating history and nothing here is ever simple — the two actually rekindled things in May 2014, only to break up again for good a few months later that August. A fittingly chaotic bookend to a chaotic first chapter.

Quick Answers

Is Ariana Grande dating Ricky Alvarez again in 2026?

Yes — multiple outlets report the two have reconciled as of July 2026, with sources saying they’re taking the relationship slow after reconnecting following her split from Ethan Slater.

How many people has Ariana Grande dated?

Her publicly known relationships span ten: Jai Brooks, Nathan Sykes, Big Sean, Ricky Alvarez (twice), Mac Miller, Pete Davidson, Mikey Foster, Dalton Gomez, and Ethan Slater.

Why did Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater break up?

Their split wasn’t publicly detailed, but People confirmed in June 2026 that the couple had quietly ended their nearly three-year relationship months earlier.

When did Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez get divorced?

The pair separated in early 2023, filed for divorce that September, and finalized the split by 2024, with insiders describing the process as unusually amicable.

Who was Ariana Grande’s first boyfriend?

Jai Brooks of The Janoskians, whom she dated on and off between 2012 and 2014, marking her first widely publicized relationship.

So where does that leave us? Back at the beginning, basically — except this time, “the beginning” is a grown woman on the verge of dropping her eighth album, reportedly taking things slow with the guy who stuck around through a doughnut scandal a decade ago. If there’s a theme running through all chapters of Ariana Grande’s dating history, it’s this: she rarely burns a bridge completely, she puts her heartbreak into the music, and just when you think her story’s closed a chapter, she flips right back to page one. We’ll be watching this Ricky Alvarez reunion very, very closely — and we’ll update the second there’s more tea to spill.