What Ariana Grande's Exes Have Said About Her - Nicki Swift (2024)

Music

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ByCassie Daigle/July 30, 2023 7:15 am EST

Ariana Grande has a laundry list of exes, but who could blame her? The Grammy-award-winning artist has a voice that stops you in your tracks — and with her stunning looks, it's no wonder why so many have fallen for the star. The singer broke into the industry at an early age, landing a Broadway role when she was just 15 years old.

Her big break came when she starred in the Nickelodeon series "Victorious" as Cat Valentine in 2010. The acting role gave Grande a chance to branch out into the music industry, and she began to drop her own music in 2011. She launched her debut album "Yours Truly" in 2014, and her single "Problem" featuring Iggy Azalea rose through the ranks to number three on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. Grande had made her mark and was only going up from there.

While her music career turned heads, so did her relationship history. It's no secret that the "7 Rings" singer has had her fair share of suitors and is not afraid to talk about the men in her life. Grande launched the celebratory track "Thank U, Next" in 2019, as a nod to her past relationships — naming some of her exes and essentially thanking them for lessons learned. While it wasn't the typical break-up ballad, it was a smash success,soaring to number one on the charts at the time and becoming one of Grande's biggest hits to date. She might have "one less problem" without them — butwhat have Ariana Grande's exes said about her?

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Fans first got wind of Ariana Grande's ex-boyfriend Ricky Alvarez when he famously accompanied her to a donut shop where she was caught dissing Americans. The infamous incident was captured by TMZ on video and featured Grande licking donuts and claiming she hated America. She and Alvarez, who was Grande's backup dancer at the time, were spotted kissing during the controversial donut shop debacle, sparking the first murmurings of their relationship.

The two got together in 2015 and dated for about a year before they split up and she began seeing Mac Miller. The pair remained on good terms, however, even being spotted out and about together in 2019. The "Sweetener" singer shut down rumors of a rekindled romance, however, in a since-deleted tweet shared bySeventeen, writing, "We're friends everyone take a big ol breather."

But it wasn't just the donut incident that got fans talking about Alvarez. Grande mentioned the dancer in her famous track "Thank U, Next." In the song, the singer writes: "Wrote some songs about Ricky/Now I listen and laugh." Alvarez took the lyrics in stride, however, posting himself listening to the track on his Instagram Story, perRefinery29,at the time. "These songs are fire tho ... " he wrote, adding he had "nothing but gratitude" for his ex after being named in Grande's track. The "Save Your Tears" singer responded to his Story jokingly, writing, " ... I'M SORRY U GOT THE WORST LINE," adding, "It was meant v lovingly."

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Pete Davidson made his mark on Ariana Grande, so much so the star even dedicated her 2018 song "Pete Davidson" to the "Saturday Night Live" star. He also got a personalized line to call his own after Ariana Grande dropped "Thank U, Next" with the lyrics, "And for Pete, I'm so thankful." As far as breakup ballads go, Davidson definitely lucked out with the mention. After all, Ricky Alvarez arguably got the short end of the stick.

The pair first met in 2014 when Grande starred as the musical guest on "SNL," but it wasn't until years later that the singer would develop any feelings for the comedian. In an interview on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon"(TS 5:00) in 2018, Grande revealed Davidson caught her eye when she appeared again on "SNL" in 2016: " ... I had the biggest crush in the whole world on him the whole time — like forever. Like, my friends used to make fun of me for it."

The pair started dating in 2018 and even got engaged, but their relationship fizzled out almost as fast as it began. They broke up that same year, five months after their relationship began. Davidson and Grande seem to be on good terms, however, with the comedian even responding to "Thank U, Next" on "SNL," saying: "She's a wonderful, strong person and I genuinely wish her all the happiness in the world." He went on to add, "Now please, go vote on Tuesday, alright?" He added, "I'm still a good song though!"

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Ariana Grande began dating Jai Brooks, a member of the former YouTube comedy group the "Janoskians," in 2012. The pair met onlineafter Brooks and his twin brother Luke competed in a contest to win Grande's attention. It ultimately led to the trending Twitter hashtag "#JaiVsLukeForAriana," and Grande reached out to Brooks and the two struck up a romance months later.

She and the Australian native dated for about a year before ending things at the end of 2013. In the tumultuous split, Grande claimed Brooks broke up with her over text message, and the YouTuber accused her of cheating on him. In a Twitter post, Brooks wrote at the time: "Yes I was cheated on. Yes it does suck. Yes I was left for another man." He went on to add, " ... Today was supposed to be our one-year anniversary but instead I'm writing this. Do you know how sh-t this makes me feel?"

He claimed the former Nickelodeon star cheated on him with Nathan Sykes, which Grande claimed is not true. In a since-deleted tweet, per Us Weekly, the singer responded: "Woke up this morning in complete and utter shock ... I guess I shouldn't be so surprised. You said to me if I didn't come back to you, you'd make me look bad to the entire world," adding, "I'm no longer afraid of you or your lies anymore."

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Ariana Grande used to think Big Sean was the one — according to her mention of the artist in "Thank U, Next." In the song Grande wrote, "Thought I'd end up with Sean/But it wasn't a match." The pair first started dating in 2014, and it was obvious they had strong feelings for each other. In an interview with "On Air With Ryan Seacrest,"the rapper admitted: "That Ariana is very, very special. She's very special to me," he said.

The "I Know" rapper also wrote some intimate song lyrics about Grande in his track "Stay Down." In the song, Sean writes, "I got a million-dollar chick with a billion-dollar p**sy/Every time I come, I swear to God I feel rich." In a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, Sean admitted Grande approved the music:"I don't have to run it by my girl, but she hears," adding, "I played her the whole album before it came out, so she heard everything." The pair even collaborated on music together with tracks like "Right There,"and "Best Mistake."

The pair called it quits nine months later in 2015 due to their demanding schedules. Despite the pair not being a match, the duo remain on good terms. Following the release of "Thank U, Next" Grande even revealed that she showed him the track before it came out. "They heard it before it came out," Grande tweeted alongside a heart emoji, per StyleCaster,addressing a fan's question about Sean and Alvarez's reactions.

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Mac Miller and Ariana Grande's relationship began with a single tweet. During the 2012 Thanksgiving Day Parade, the "Die For You" singer tweeted "What are you thankful for at the moment?" to which Miller responded, "The velvet revival." Miller later requested to sing a duet with Grande, and they went on to record the Christmas duet "Baby It's Cold Outside" together.

The pair stirred up the rumor mill the following year when the "Self Care" singer was featured kissing her in Grande's "My Way" music video. Their relationship wouldn't turn romantic until 2016 however, because at the time of their meeting, Grande was dating Jai Brooks. They debuted their romance at the 2016 Video Music Awards, and shared plenty of adorable Instagram snaps together following the public announcement of their relationship.

The two artists collaborated on Miller's track "My Favorite Part" off his album "The Divine Feminine." In the joint track, Miller sings: "Said, you know I know who you really are, ain't need to lie/Said, the universe couldn't keep us apart/Why would it even try?" The artist gushed about his relationship in a 2016 interview with Vogue, admitting: "I think a lot of times people just want to be cool, and to be in love is not cool," adding, "But I think it's the coolest. I think love is the coolest thing that there is." Miller and Grande ultimately split up in 2018, and Miller died several months later from a drug overdose.

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Ariana Grande and Nathan Sykes first started seeing each other in 2013 after they collaborated on the track "Almost Is Never Enough." Grande was accusedof cheating on her ex-boyfriend Jai Brooks with "The Wanted" singer, but she denied the claims. The "Bang Bang" singer dated Sykes for a few months before the pair called it quits on the romance. Insiders told Us Weeklyat the time that their relationship fizzled out due to their busy schedules, and that, "They just weren't into it anymore."

The pair remained on good terms following the split, however. The musical duo even joined forces on Sykes' track "Over and Over Again," three years later. TMZ caught up with the singer following the release of his ex-girlfriend's track "Thank U, Next," of which he was notably missing from the lyrics. When asked how he felt about not being named in the track, Sykes responded: "That's good!" with a laugh, adding, "I hear it's amazing and that's fantastic."

Sykes was also asked what he thinks Grande learned from him during the relationship, and he admitted he wouldn't "tell anyone what they can learn from me." When asked whether he learned anything himself, he said, "It was a long time ago so you never really — I suppose you just grow as a person, don't you?"

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Mikey Foster and Ariana first started seeing each other in 2019 during Grande's "Sweetener" world tour. Foster is one half of the musical group "Social House," alongside Charles Anderson. The duo opened for the "Save Your Tears" artist, raving about Grande's talent as an artist. "She's definitely an artist you have to like, kick out of the studio," Foster told Extra TV at the time, adding that her work ethic as an artist is unmatched. "Social House" also joined her on her track "Boyfriend." The duo sparked dating rumors after Foster and Grande were seen locking lips in the video for the collaborative track, and were spotted together on several outings while traveling on tour.

Foster took to Instagram to express his admiration for Grande while they were together, writing in a since-deleted post shared byHarper's Bazaar, "Hard work is what get u there. This girl got the all the records n chart love n she in here working after 2am doing her own edits n sh*t n making sure her sh*t is right [sic]." The former couple's relationship lasted for about a year before they went their separate ways in March 2020.

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Dalton Gomez and Ariana Grande were first spotted together in 2020. The pair sparked romance rumors after TMZ caught them making out at a bar in California. Gomez, who works as a luxury real estate agent, later appeared with Grande in her and Justin Bieber's track "Stuck With U," in which she gives him a hug and a kiss. The "Side to Side" singer took their relationship Instagram-official in the summer of 2020, and things only heated up from there.

The pair got engaged during the holidays in 2020 and tied the knot months later in a small ceremony surrounded by close family and friends. Their marriage ended in 2023, however, whenTMZ announced their plans to divorce. Distance reportedly played a role in the ending of their relationship, as Grande was in the midst of filming the upcoming film "Wicked" based on the Broadway classic.

A source close to the real estate agent told Entertainment Tonight: "Dalton is having a hard time after his breakup with Ariana. It has been a difficult time for him because he wanted to make things work." The insider also revealed that Gomez attempted to visit her in Europe to reconcile while she was filming. "He still has a lot of love for her and still considers her his partner, but she has moved on," the source said.

Move on she did — with a source telling Entertainment Tonight she started dating her "Wicked" co-star Ethan Slater just days after news broke about her split with Gomez.