Ariana Grande Has Officially Gone Instagram Official With Her Boyfriend

Though their faces were cropped out of the frames, Ariana left zero doubt about who her new beau is by explicitly tagging Ricky Alvarez’s Instagram account on the images. She captioned the entire post with a cryptic but sweet lineup of emojis: “🌱 ！ ♡.” Ricky immediately shared the love by reposting the shots to his own Instagram Stories.

While the social media post is their first official confirmation, fans tracking the Eternal Sunshine Tour already knew something was brewing. Rumors first ignited in June when Ricky was spotted supporting Ariana at several tour dates.

The real giveaway happened on stage during her performances of the 2018 smash hit “thank u, next.” Instead of singing the original iconic line, “Wrote some songs about Ricky / Now I listen and laugh,” Ariana playfully flipped the lyrics to say, “Wrote some songs about Ricky / We always find our way back.”

Ariana and Ricky originally dated from 2015 to 2016 after he joined her team as a backup dancer on the Honeymoon Tour. Over the last decade, Alvarez transitioned into photography and creative direction, remaining a steady, trustworthy presence who stayed incredibly close with the Grande family.

Following Ariana’s quiet split from her Wicked co-star Ethan Slater earlier this year, sources reported to Page Six and People Magazine that the duo began taking things “one step at a time.” Now, as Ariana gears up for her final 10-show stretch at The O2 Arena before her upcoming public hiatus, insiders say Ricky has been a super supportive anchor for the pop star.