Ariana Grande has offered fans a glimpse of her rekindled romance with Ricky Álvarez, sharing footage of the pair kissing during rehearsals for her Eternal Sunshine Tour, alongside a reworked “thank u, next” lyric suggesting she wants him to be her “last” partner.
Ariana Grande has given fans a closer look at her relationship with boyfriend Ricky Álvarez in a new video recapping her Eternal Sunshine Tour. The singer wrapped up the 41-show run with her final performance in London on Tuesday, before sharing a black-and-white montage from the tour on Instagram on Friday. “This experience has meant more to me than words can possibly say … ‘i love you’ doesn’t begin to cover it. thank you. from the bottom of my heart. yours always, ariana,” the 33-year-old wrote alongside the post.
The kiss and the lyric change
Among the behind-the-scenes moments featured in the montage was footage of Grande rehearsing on stage, leaning down toward the edge where Álvarez was taking photographs of her, before the pair shared a passionate kiss.
Grande appeared to hint at wanting to marry Álvarez during her final London show, altering the lyrics to “thank u, next” from “Wrote some songs about Ricky / Now I listen and laugh” to “Wrote some songs about Ricky / I’m tryna make him my last.” The change marked the culmination of several increasingly romantic lyric alterations throughout the tour. In June, she had sung that their old songs “still really slap,” before later changing the line to “I know he’s still got my back,” and subsequently to “We always find our way back.”
A relationship with history
Grande and Álvarez’s romance stretches back much further than their current relationship. The pair originally dated from 2015 to 2016, after Álvarez worked as one of Grande’s dancers. Their renewed relationship first drew public attention in June, with People reporting in July that the pair had rekindled their romance. A source told the outlet that Grande was happy to have Álvarez back in her life, describing him as dependable, trustworthy and supportive.
The couple made their relationship more publicly visible in August, when Grande shared photographs that appeared to show the two together and close. According to reports, the relationship rekindled after Grande’s previous relationship with Ethan Slater ended earlier in 2026; the pair had originally got together after meeting while filming Wicked. Álvarez has remained part of Grande’s professional circle in the years since their initial split, working as both a dancer and photographer, which explains his presence behind the scenes during rehearsals and performances throughout the tour.
A hugely successful tour
Grande’s Eternal Sunshine Tour proved a substantial commercial success, with the 41-show run reportedly grossing around $107.9 million and selling approximately 638,000 tickets, according to reported Billboard Boxscore figures.
The London finale also carried added significance, as Grande has announced she intends to step back from public-facing work following the conclusion of the tour. Her team said she wanted time away from the constant scrutiny surrounding her, in order to focus on her personal life. As part of this shift, Grande has withdrawn from the planned West End production of Sunday in the Park with George, which had been scheduled for 2027; co-star Jonathan Bailey subsequently left the project as well. She is, however, still expected to remain professionally active in the near term, with promotional work planned for Focker-in-Law, due for release in November.
What the kiss signals
The kiss captured in the tour montage stands out as one of the clearest public displays of affection between Grande and Álvarez since their reconciliation, with much of the previous evidence of their relationship coming from photographs, joint appearances and Grande’s evolving lyrics rather than direct footage of the two together.
Despite the increasingly public nature of their relationship, neither Grande nor Álvarez has formally announced an engagement or marriage plans. While the “I’m tryna make him my last” lyric has prompted speculation about marriage, it remains an inference rather than confirmation of any engagement. The relationship nonetheless represents a striking full circle for Grande: Álvarez was once the former partner she jokingly referenced in “thank u, next”; nearly a decade later, she is now publicly suggesting she wants him to be her final one.
