Ariana Grande‘s former boyfriend and backup dancer Ricky Alvarez was spotted interacting with the singer’s dad during the June 26 Austin, TX stop of her “Eternal Sunshine” tour.
Ricky was spotted by fans watching the concert from the VIP section, where he stood near Ariana’s parents. While performing her song “Thank U, Next” which references several of her exes, the R&B/Pop princess switched up the line about Ricky to say, “Wrote some songs about Ricky, I know he’s still got my back.” The second half of the line in the original recording says, “Now I listen and laugh.”
Ariana and Ricky started dating in 2015 and split in July of 2016, according to People.
After she sang the line, Ricky was seen reaching out to share a good-natured handshake with Ariana’s father, Edward Butera. At the same moment, her mother, Joan Grande, who was standing near the front of the section, threw a thumb over her shoulder to acknowledge the 33-year-old dancer.
Ariana Was Spotted Spending Time With Ricky Shortly Before Her Friday, June 26 Show
Before the show, Ariana was spotted with her former flame in Texas, and the pair was joined by Christian Breslauer, a popular director who has directed several of Ariana’s videos including “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)” and “Hate That I Made You Love Me.”
People says they were told by a source that Ariana has been “hanging out recently” with Ricky, who was her dancer from around 2014 to 2016. The outlet says they haven’t heard back from Ariana’s reps for comment on the story.
The outlet reminded fans that after Ariana’s song “Thank U, Next” dropped in November 2018, the pair shared a good-natured exchange on Instagram in which Ricky wrote alongside a clip of himself listening to the track, “Nothing but gratitude. Thank you, next… (those songs are fire tho… you’re welcome).”
Ariana reposted Ricky’s post to her own Stories and wrote, “Oh for sure … ty next” before adding on another slide, “HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH IM SORRY U GOT THE WORST LINE. It was meant v lovingly.”
What Ricky Said About ‘Thank U, Next’
In a Zach Sang Show interview, Ariana revealed how Ricky what Ricky personally told her about the song after hearing it.
“I had sent it to Sean and he loved it,” she said, referencing rapper Big Sean, to whom she was linked from August 2014 to April 2015. She said, “Ricky loved it,” adding that he was “proud” but complained, “Why’d I get the worst line?” She says in the interview that she responded by joking that she could have called him “trash” in the song, but chose to say something less harsh. She explained she chose the “now I listen and laugh” line simply because “it didn’t work out.”
She also shared, “I had sent it to Sean and he loved it,” referencing rapper Big Sean, to whom she was linked from August 2014 to April 2015.
Ricky’s attendance at Ariana’s recent show comes a few weeks after People reported on June 8 that a source told them Grande had split “several months” ago from her wicked costar Ethan Slater, to whom she was first linked in July 2023.
