Ariana Grande just dropped the biggest hint yet that she’s back with Ricky Alvarez with a definite lyrical change.
During the opening of the 5-day Brooklyn stop by her Eternal sunshine tour on Monday, July 13 — which happened to be Alvarez’s 34th birthday — the pop star changed the lyrics to her song Thanks next which describes her past relationships.
“Wrote some songs about Ricky, we always come back,” Grande sang at NYC’s Barclays Center, according to fan-caught footage circulating online.
The original lyrics were: “Wrote some songs about Ricky, now I listen and laugh.”
It wasn’t the first time the Grammy winner swapped the initially snarky lyrics for a more positive one for Alvarez, whom she dated for a year in 2015.
During her stop in Austin, Texas, on June 26 — which was also her 33rd birthday — Grande sang, “Wrote some songs about Ricky, I know he still got my back.” Alvarez was present in the crowd and was caught shaking hands with a man believed by many to be Grande’s father Edward Butera.
The pair have since been spotted hanging out together.
Grande and Alvarez first met when he was working as a backup dancer for her in 2015 Honeymoon trip. The pair began dating that year before splitting in 2016, although they remained on good terms. During an interview in 2016 with BillboardGrande described herself as being in a “very happy and healthy place” while they were together.
The renewed interest in their relationship comes after reports that Grande and Evil co-star Ethan Slater quietly ended their three-year romance earlier this year.
