Some Ariana Grande fans know Ricky Alvarez from when Grande was spotted alongside him licking a doughnut on a counter — a moment many online have referred to as “donutgate.” Other fans may know his name from his famous shoutout in her hit “Thank U, Next”: “Wrote some songs about Ricky / Now I listen and laugh.”
Some may even recognize him from old concert videos, when he was a backup dancer on her first arena tour, “The Honeymoon Tour” in 2015, when their offstage public romance began.
Now, years later, Alvarez is once again the center of fandom conversations as Grande is seemingly back in a relationship with him, per recent buzzy Instagram posts and public sightings.
From backup dancer to boyfriend, breakup to rekindling, here’s a timeline of key moments in the relationship between Grande and Alvarez.
April 2014: Ricky Alvarez Becomes One of Ariana Grande’s Backup Dancers
Alvarez made his onstage debut with Grande while the pop star was in the middle of her own big moment: performing her hit song “Problem” for the first time live at the Radio Disney Music Awards.
At the time, Grande was rumored to be single, although she was spotted kissing former on-again-off-again beau Jai Brooks at the iHeart Radio Music Awards a month later.
February 2015: Ariana Grande Starts Her “Honeymoon Tour,” With Ricky Alvarez Backup Dancing
Grande kicked off her first arena tour with Alvarez as one of her male backup dancers.
June 2015: Relationship Rumors First Spark
Fans first started to speculate about a relationship between Grande and Alvarez after they shared an onstage kiss during New York City Pride, around a couple months after the singer reportedly split from rapper Big Sean.
In the months following the kiss, Grande proceeded to share romantic clips of the pair — including many of them goofing off together before and after shows, primarily on her now-defunct Snapchat account.
July 2015: The Famous “Donutgate” Unfolds
Alvarez was alongside the singer when she was captured on camera at Wolfee Donuts in California, licking a doughnut on the store’s counter and declaring “I hate America.”
In the same video, Grande is also captured kissing Alvarez — marking the couple’s first on-camera kiss following New York City Pride.
In an extended statement posted on X, Grande apologized to her fans and insisted, “I am EXTREMELY proud to be an American.”
She also said her comments were meant to be private, aimed at her friend who was purchasing the doughnuts, TODAY.com previously reported.
May 2016: Ariana Grande Releases “Dangerous Woman” Album, With Nods to Ricky Alvarez
When Grande released her third studio album “Dangerous Woman,” many fans speculated that some of the romance songs like “Moonlight,” “Knew Better/Forever Boy” and “Into You” were written about her then-beau.
In an interview with Billboard that same month, her longtime friend and co-writer Victoria Monet confirmed that “Moonlight” was based off a nickname Alvarez had given her.
“That’s what Ricky called her one night. I think it was after their first kiss,” Monet told the magazine. “He waited to kiss her for a long time, and she was really impressed. He’s such a gentleman, and the song is a great little bookmark of the start of their relationship.”
Grande’s comment to the publication was less detailed: “We’re happy. I’m a very happy girl. I have a healthy life right now, and I think that’s all anyone cares to know. The end.”
July 2016: Fans Speculate the Couple Split, Ariana Grande Posts Hinting Tweets
Grande first started to fuel breakup rumors when she took to then-Twitter to write “life is wild” and “change is f****** fantastic,” according to a fan account on Instagram.
The singer did not publicly confirm the breakup at the time.
November 2018: Ariana Grande Releases “Thank U, Next” With a Lyric for Ricky Alvarez, And He Reacts
Grande released her hit “Thank U, Next,” in which she name-dropped Alvarez alongside Big Sean, Pete Davidson and Mac Miller, her other former beaus.
“Wrote some songs about Ricky / Now I listen and laugh,” she sang.
After the song came out, Alvarez posted an Instagram story reacting to his shoutout. In the clip, he zooms in on his face as Grande sings his name.
In a story posted right after, he wrote in part: “Nothing but gratitude … those songs are fire tho… you’re welcome.”
January 2019: Ricky Alvarez Attended Ariana Grande’s “7 Rings” Release Party
Alvarez attended Grande’s party for the release of her hit single “7 Rings” and shared an Instagram photo from the festivities, posing with two photographers and directors from her team.
Grande commented “the best team see y’all on touuuur,” with two camera emojis.
February 2019: Ariana Grande Comments on Ricky Alvarez’ Reaction to “Thank U, Next” Feature
During her interview on the Zach Sang show, Grande responded to Alvarez’s initial reaction to her “Thank U, Next” lyric about him.
“Ricky loved it. He was proud. But Ricky was like, ‘Why did I get the worst line?’ And I was like, ‘What do you mean?’ He was like, ‘Everyone else’s line is so nice, and mine is like, ‘Man, f*** him, he’s trash,’” the singer recalled.
She continued: “I was like, ‘I could have said that, I could’ve said ‘Wrote some songs about Ricky,’ never mind he’s trash,’ But I didn’t. I said, ‘Now I listen and laugh.’”
March 2019: Ariana Grande Starts Her “Sweetener World Tour,” Ricky Alvarez Joins As A Photographer
Alvarez got back into professional work with Grande when she kicked off her “Sweetener World Tour.” He joined the crew as a photographer, per multiple fan reports.
April 2019: Ricky Alvarez Co-Directs Ariana Grande’s “Monopoly” Music Video, Photographs Her Coachella Performance
Alvarez took his camera work with Grande a step further when he collaborated with her longtime photographer and videographer Alfredo Flores to make a music video for “Monopoly,” her single with Victoria Monet.
After the video premiered, he took to Instagram to declare the song one of his “favorite slaps yet,” per his post’s caption.
Later that month, Alvarez photographed Grande’s headlining performances at Coachella.
He posted a photo he captured on Instagram from the first weekend, and the singer commented a praying emoji with a black heart.
June 2026: Ariana Grande Starts Changing “Thank U, Next” Lyrics About Ricky On Stage
Around seven years, several public relationships and one brief marriage later, Grande alluded to the pair’s potential rekindling — or at least friendship — when she first changed the lyric about him in “Thank U, Next” during her “Eternal Sunshine Tour” stop in Austin, Texas.
“Wrote some songs about Ricky / And they still kinda slap,” she sang.
Two nights later, she changed the lyrics again during her birthday show in the same city: “Wrote some songs about Ricky / I know he’s still got my back.”
Meanwhile, relationship rumors about the pair swirled as TMZ photographed the pair together multiple times throughout the summer.
At Grande’s Brooklyn, New York tour stop, she changed the lyrics again: “Wrote some songs about Ricky / We always find our way back.”
July 2026: Ricky Alvarez Includes Ariana Grande in an Instagram Post
Alvarez posted Grande on his Instagram for the first time in years when he included a visual from her “Eternal Sunshine Tour” in a photo carousel.
The singer commented a heart emoji on the post.
August 2026: Ariana Grande Posts Instagram Carousel Including Ricky Alvarez, Confirming Romantic Spark. Singer Reveals New Matching Tattoo
Grande practically confirmed the relationship rumors when she posted an Instagram carousel Aug. 12 that included two photos of the couple cozying up.
A few days after she shared the post online, Grande debuted a new tattoo across her upper chest at her tour stop in London: “I do love you.”
Alvarez also has the phrase tattooed in the same spot, but his appears in a different font.
Most recently during the final show of her “Eternal Sunshine” tour Sept. 1, she changed the “Thank U, Next” lyrics once again: “Wrote some songs about Ricky / I’m tryna make him my last.”
Although they continue to share their affection online and at Grande’s tour stops, neither of them have publicly commented on the current status of their relationship.