The messy way Ariana Grande rekindled Ricky romance whilst she was still with Ethan Slater

Ariana Grande is officially back with her ex, Ricky Alvarez, after her split from Ethan Slater, but they’re taking the rekindling “slow.”

“They’re not jumping into anything serious right away, but Ari is happy to have him back in her life,” a source told People earlier this week.

Of course, this isn’t the first time Ricky and Ariana have been together. They first met when Ricky was her backup dancer, with the relationship finally being confirmed in 2016 after a year of speculation. The couple were only together for a year before splitting up, with Ricky making his way into the lyrics for his ex’s Thank U, Next.

Now fans are excited once again because they seem to be back together. Though Ariana and Ricky have yet to confirm the relationship, they’ve been spotted out and about together holding hands, and it’s basically confirmed at this point. Aw.

Ariana Grande debuts another ‘thank u, next’ lyric change:
‘Wrote some songs about Ricky, we always find our way back.’ pic.twitter.com/21l73nDovD

— Ariana Data (@thearianadata) July 14, 2026

Some juicy lore on Ariana Grande and Ricky Alvarez

According to multiple sources who spoke to the Daily Mail, Ariana Grande always “kept a line open” to Ricky, even when she was with Ethan Slater. As it looked like her relationship with Ethan was ending, she made her move.

“It was important to her to still be loosely in contact with him as they still had mutual friends,” a source explained. “As her relationship was ending with Ethan, she chose to reach out to Ricky more… then hang out with him more with mutual friends… and then they started hanging out alone.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ricky Álvarez (@rickyrozay)

Most Read

We now know the specifics of the four indecency charges the dad of 16 rescued kids is facing

The names, ages and nationalities of all 32 Costa Concordia victims, and how they died

Bonnie Blue shares traumatic content from before, during and after her ‘milk me’ stunt

Meanwhile, Ricky is reportedly “very happy being back in her life and is looking for this second chance to be what he wanted the first time around.”

Though the sources suggest that Ariana was considering her options while she was still in a relationship with her Wicked co-star, another source was adamant that they “never crossed the line while she was with Ethan.”

Sharing a look into the rekindling, another source explained: “Ariana and Ricky are fully back in each other’s lives and are together. What ultimately drew her back was the comfort and familiarity they share. She doesn’t feel like she has to prove herself, and there’s a level of trust that comes with knowing each other so well.

DID SHE JUST SOTFLAUNCH??? pic.twitter.com/yuXZibPzsg

— lis 33 ꕤ (@voodoo1uv) July 16, 2026

“This doesn’t appear to be a rebound. Ariana and Ricky have a long history and a level of familiarity. They’re revisiting the relationship with a different perspective, openly talking about what went wrong before and making a conscious effort to avoid repeating those mistakes.

“They’re approaching the relationship with more maturity and a clearer understanding of each other. Which isn’t usually Ariana’s thing.”

Apparently, Ethan Slater found out about the rekindling through friends, not Ariana.

Ariana Grande has been approached for comment.

For more like this – like The Tab on Facebook. 

Featured image credit: John Salangsang/Shutterstock and Aflo/Shutterstock and Instagram