Ariana Grande spent much of the past year moving between concerts, film projects and other public commitments. After wrapping her Eternal Sunshine Tour in early September, she is taking the break she had already planned.
Grande has been laying low in Los Angeles, where her time away has included Ricky Alvarez, the dancer and photographer she first dated more than a decade ago. The two were spotted together at Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights on September 24 after reconnecting earlier this summer.
She also skipped the MTV Video Music Awards on September 27 despite receiving seven nominations. Grande won Song of the Summer and Best Visual Effects for “hate that i made you love me,” but did not attend the Los Angeles ceremony.
Sources told Page Six that Grande is enjoying having fewer obligations and spending private time in Los Angeles after several demanding years.
Grande Planned Her Break Before the Tour Ended
Grande’s representative announced in August that the singer would step back from public visibility after completing the Eternal Sunshine Tour. The decision followed years that included the two Wicked films, new music and her return to touring.
Her absence from the VMAs was one of the first major examples of that plan after the tour ended. Grande did not appear at the ceremony but acknowledged her two victories afterward on Instagram Stories, thanking her fans.
Her representative previously described the post-tour period as an opportunity to rest after the sustained public scrutiny surrounding Grande during the preceding months.
Ricky Alvarez Reconnected With Grande During Her Tour
View this post on Instagram
Alvarez began appearing with Grande again during the summer. At her June 26 concert in Austin, she changed the familiar “thank u, next” lyric about him from “Now I listen and laugh” to “And they still really slap.” Alvarez attended the show, and the two were also seen together in Austin around Grande’s birthday.
He later spent Fourth of July weekend in Florida with Grande and her family. A source told PEOPLE in July that the former couple had rekindled their romance but were “taking things very slowly.” Grande and Alvarez originally dated from 2015 to 2016 and remained friendly after their breakup.
Grande continued changing the Alvarez reference in “thank u, next” as the tour progressed. During a July performance in New York, she sang, “We always find our way back,” and at the final London show on September 1, she changed the line again to say she was trying to make him her last.
The pair were seen kissing at Halloween Horror Nights on September 24. Video obtained by TMZ showed them together in a VIP area during the outing.
Grande Left Two Previously Announced Acting Projects
Grande’s reduced schedule also follows her departure from two projects announced earlier in the year, although the exits came under different circumstances.
She was originally expected to make her American Horror Story debut in Season 13. TheWrap reported in July that Grande left after shifting production dates created conflicts with the Eternal Sunshine Tour.
In August, Grande also withdrew from the planned West End revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Sunday in the Park With George. She had been scheduled to star opposite her Wicked costar Jonathan Bailey at London’s Barbican Centre in 2027.
The production company said it understood and supported Grande’s decision, while her representative confirmed at the time that she planned to step away from public visibility once the tour ended. Bailey subsequently left the production as well, and the revival was later canceled.
Her Next Movie Will Bring Her Back to the Spotlight
Grande’s break is not expected to keep her out of public view indefinitely. She is scheduled to return to promotional work in November for Focker-In-Law, the latest installment in the Meet the Parents franchise.
Grande plays Olivia Jones, the girlfriend of Henry Focker, opposite returning franchise stars Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro. Page Six reports that promotion for the film is expected to mark her return to work after the current period away from regular public appearances.