Boca Raton's very own Ariana Grande has gone Instagram official with her new boyfriend.
Grande has rekindled a romance with Ricky Álvarez, who she originally dated over a decade ago.
She posted photos of the two of them in an Aug. 12 Instagram carousel. Halfway into the 20-photo post, a picture with their heads cropped out of the frame shows Álvarez, 34, with his arm around Grande's shoulders as she captures a mirror selfie. Grande, 33, tagged Álvarez in the images.
The two were also spotted over Fourth of July weekend in her hometown.
The Grammy-winning singer was seen leaving the the Whole Foods Market near the Florida Atlantic University campus with her former backup dancer and ex-boyfriend. According to reports, the duo loaded up their groceries
before heading to her parents' house nearby to celebrate the holiday.
On July 14, People confirmed that the former flame has reignited, nearly a decade after their initial split. The news comes after Grande's quiet split from her "Wicked" co-star Ethan Slater this spring.
If the grocery run was a quiet local hint, Grande decided to scream the news to a sold-out crowd of thousands.
During her "Eternal Sunshine Tour" stop at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on July 13, Grande took the stage to perform her iconic 2018 hit "Thank U, Next". In the original track, which famously name-drops her high-profile exes, the lyric goes: "Wrote some songs about Ricky / Now I listen and laugh."
But on Monday, which also happened to be Álvarez’s 34th birthday, Grande smiled and swapped the line: "Wrote some songs about Ricky / We always find our way back."
The stadium of fans reportedly went "absolutely ballistic" at the change, according to media reports.
When were Ariana Grande, Ricky Álvarez together?
Grande and Álvarez first met in 2014 when he joined her Honeymoon Tour as a backup dancer. They dated for a little over a year, starting in 2015, before splitting amicably in the summer of 2016.
Despite the breakup, the two have remained close. In 2018, when "Thank U, Next" first dropped, Álvarez took the shoutout in stride, posting on his Instagram stories, "Nothing but gratitude."
Álvarez has reportedly been joining Grande for portions of her current tour. For local fans, it seems the road to reconnection started right here in Palm Beach County with a trip to Whole Foods.
Grande taking break from spotlight
The 33-year-old pop star will step out of the public eye after finishing her Eternal Sunshine tour, a representative for Grande said in a statement to USA TODAY on Aug. 2. The tour’s final performance is Sept. 1 in London.
"She looks forward to finishing the tour and ending it on a high note, both healthily and happily, and then taking a much-deserved break from public-facing work and appearances which has led to endless, ongoing public scrutiny," the statement said.
"This tour has been a beautiful experience for her. She loves her fans and has loved every minute of this tour so much.”
Grande addressed her decision to step back from public view during a concert in Chicago on Aug. 3.
"The announcement that was made yesterday was not a reactive or impulsive thing," she said. "It is something that I have decided, it's a plan that I have quietly made, a long time ago, and it's decision that was made from a thoughtful and empowered place."
Grande will also step away from her role in the West End revival of Stephen Sondheim's "Sunday in the Park with George,” which was set for next summer, according to media reports. Over the past year, Grande starred in a second “Wicked” film, toured for the first time in six years and released an eighth album.
What are Ariana Grande’s ties to Boca Raton?
Boca Raton is Grande’s hometown.
In previous interviews, Grande drew attention to the places in the city that shaped her childhood. She said she misses the local beaches, shopping at Town Center at Boca Raton and watching movies at the Cinemark.
In 2024, she flew back home for one day to take her beloved Marjorie "Nonna" Grande to see "Wicked" at that theater.
She was asked how to spend the perfect afternoon in Boca Raton during her appearance on the hot-sauce interview show "Hot Ones.” She mentioned a family-fun center: "Boomers! Underrated, you can't overrate Boomers. It's Boomers!"
Staff writers Maya Washburn and Emmy Bailey contributed to this story.
Arianna Otero covers breaking news for the Palm Beach Post. Contact her via email at AOtero@pbpost.com and follow her on X: @ari_v_otero.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Ariana Grande, Boca's very own, goes Insta official with new boyfriend
