Ariana Grande Boyfriend: Her Reunion With Ricky Alvarez
Ariana Grande and Ricky Alvarez shared kisses in a new R.E.M. Beauty video released in November 2026, giving fans another public look at their rekindled relationship. The playful beauty challenge followed affectionate photographs the singer had already shared earlier in the month.
Alvarez is Grande's current publicly identified boyfriend. They previously dated in 2015 and 2016, remained connected after their separation and returned to a romantic relationship in 2026.
Who is Ariana Grande dating?
Grande is dating Ricky Alvarez, a dancer and photographer. Their history reaches back to the period when he worked as a dancer around her touring career.
Unlike a new relationship between people meeting for the first time, their reunion has a long personal background. Their earlier romance also became part of Grande's musical story, with Alvarez referenced in her song “Thank U, Next.”
In 2026, public appearances and social media posts gradually made the renewed relationship visible. Reporting placed renewed interest in the pair during the summer, followed by an Instagram confirmation in August.
Grande and Alvarez’s earlier relationship is one reason the reunion has drawn more attention than an ordinary new-couple sighting. They already shared a place in one another’s personal history, and fans familiar with her earlier career recognized him when he returned to her public posts. A reunion, however, should not be described as an uninterrupted relationship. Their original dating period ended years before the current reports. The time between those chapters included other relationships and substantial professional changes, making the 2026 confirmation a new development rather than evidence that the earlier breakup had never taken place.
The November beauty video is therefore a recent update within an already public reunion. It should not be described as the first time anyone learned that they were together again.
What happened in the R.E.M. Beauty video?
The couple took part in a challenge in which Alvarez tried to identify products Grande had applied to her lips. Kisses were part of the game, making the promotional video an affectionate relationship appearance as well.
The format connected her beauty business with the relaxed dynamic fans had been seeing in her personal posts. It did not include an engagement announcement or suggest that a wedding had taken place.
Earlier in November, Grande had shared a photograph collection containing affectionate moments with Alvarez in New York. Those images helped establish a continuing pattern of public appearances, rather than a relationship inferred from one ambiguous photograph.
Alvarez’s dance and photography background also gives him a professional identity beyond the relationship. His connection to Grande’s earlier touring years helps explain how he became familiar to fans, while his later work should not be reduced to being photographed with her. A public couple can have overlapping professional circles without every appearance being a formal collaboration. The R.E.M. Beauty video was a specific instance in which the two appeared together in a promotional setting. Its value as a relationship update comes from their open participation and affectionate interaction, rather than from assumptions about contracts, employment or future projects involving both of them.
Direct posts and clearly described joint appearances are more useful evidence than anonymous guesses about the meaning of a lyric or an isolated comment. The latest material gives a straightforward answer to the boyfriend question without requiring those assumptions.
How is this different from her relationship with Ethan Slater?
Grande was previously in a relationship with Wicked co-star Ethan Slater. News coverage reported their separation in June 2026, before her reunion with Alvarez became publicly established.
Older photographs and profiles still identify Slater as her boyfriend because they describe that earlier period. They should be dated and treated as historical material, rather than silently presented as a current update.
Grande has also been married before, to Dalton Gomez. A past marriage, a former relationship and a present boyfriend are separate parts of her history and should not be collapsed into one timeline without clear dates.
Her current relationship with Alvarez is notable partly because it reconnects with someone audiences already knew from an earlier chapter. Still, the couple's private plans remain their own to announce.
The distinction between Alvarez and Slater is especially important for readers encountering mixed search results. The Wicked connection produced extensive photographs and reporting about Grande and Slater, meaning older material can remain highly visible after a split. A genuine photograph is still a record of a particular period. It cannot independently establish a present relationship simply because it appears near a recent article. The more recent posts and joint appearance with Alvarez supply the current reference point. Grande’s former marriage to Dalton Gomez belongs to another separate stage, with its own legal and personal history. Keeping those chapters in order makes the latest boyfriend update clear without turning a reunion into a claim about engagement, marriage or other milestones she has not announced.
As of the latest November reporting, Ricky Alvarez is the boyfriend appearing in Grande's public posts and beauty content. That is the strongest available answer, while claims about engagement, marriage or further personal milestones would need new evidence.
