Ariana Grande confirms Ricky Alvarez romance with Instagram soft launch

WASHINGTON: Ariana Grande appears to have made her rekindled romance with Ricky Alvarez official on Instagram as she shared pictures of the two together in a recent photo dump.

The pop star, on Wednesday, shared a series of pictures on Instagram from different moments, including a few low-key photos with Alvarez, whom she previously dated from 2015 to 2016.

In one of the pictures, Grande and Alvarez are seen wearing coordinating outfits in front of a mirror. Grande has kept their faces out of the frame, while Alvarez can be seen with his arm around her shoulder and holding her hand. Another picture shows Alvarez holding the camera while Grande stands facing him.

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A post shared by Ariana Grande (@arianagrande)

According to People magazine, the post comes nearly a month after Alvarez was seen attending Grande’s concert in Brooklyn, New York. He was spotted dancing during her performance of “Imperfect for You”.

At another show earlier that month, Grande also changed a line from her song “Thank U, Next” while referring to Alvarez. “Wrote some songs about Ricky/We always find our way back,” Grande sang during the performance.

Grande and Alvarez ended their relationship in 2016, but remained friends over the years. They were first seen together again in Austin, Texas, on June 26. Alvarez later attended Grande’s tour stop in the city, as per the publication.

A source told People in July that Alvarez has remained a close friend of Grande and that she “really trusts him”. “He has such great, positive energy, makes her laugh, and she enjoys spending time with him,” the source said.

Another source told the publication later in July that the two were “taking things very slowly” as they spent more time together.

“Ariana has always considered Ricky a friend,” the insider said. “She’s not held ill will against him [since their split]. Ricky is dependable, trustworthy and very supportive. Ariana feels she can be herself around Ricky.”

The source added, “They’re not jumping into anything serious right away, but Ari is happy to have him back in her life.”

Meanwhile, Grande is set to continue her Eternal Sunshine Tour, with her run of shows scheduled to end in September. Earlier this month, People reported that the singer plans to take “a step back from visibility” after the tour comes to an end. (ANI)