Ariana Grande Rewrites Ex Ricky Alvarez's Story—Again

Sometimes a song lyric becomes a living thing. What Ariana Grande wrote in 2018 about moving on from Ricky Alvarez has transformed into something entirely different on her Eternal Sunshine Tour—and she’s making no secret of it.

During her opening night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Monday, July 13, the 33-year-old singer altered the lyrics to“Thank U, Next”once again, swapping her original line“Wrote some songs about Ricky / Now I listen and laugh”for“Wrote some songs about Ricky / We always find our way back.”It’s the second time in less than three weeks she’s rewritten that moment on stage, having previously changed it to“Know he still got my back”during a June 26 show in Austin, Texas—where Alvarez, 34, was reportedly present to hear it.

The significance here isn’t subtle. These aren’t random ad-libs; they’re deliberate reframings of a breakup narrative. The original lyric carried the sting of distance and closure. The new versions? They suggest proximity, loyalty, and cyclical connection. When Alvarez was spotted smiling directly after the Austin performance, fans picked up what she was putting down. By early July, Us Weekly had reported that Grande and Alvarez were spotted together at a Whole Foods in Boca Raton, Florida, during the July 4 holiday weekend, with a source confirming they“always shared a close bond”and that Grande“is happy to reconnect with him again.”

Context matters here. Grande had been dating Wicked costar Ethan Slater for two years before their split in June. According to insiders, the breakup was amicable, with both remaining supportive of one another. But the timing of her rekindled connection with Alvarez—a relationship that originally dated between 2015 and 2016—tells its own story. She’s rewriting her past not out of regret, but out of something that feels like genuine affection and gratitude. As one source put it, Alvarez“has been a huge source of support.”

What’s most striking is how openly Grande is processing this through performance. The Eternal Sunshine residency has become a stage for real-time emotional recalibration. A 2019 interview revealed that Alvarez had jokingly complained about getting“the worst line”in the original“Thank U, Next,”asking why his reference landed while everyone else’s was kinder. Grande’s latest versions feel like her finally giving him the line he deserved—one that honors what they’ve become to each other, not just what they were.