The Eternal Sunshine tour has brought Ariana Grande to London for an ambitious 10-day residency. A city she’s long loved, of course Ari brought her rekindled flame Ricky Álvarez with her to enjoy the last embers of British summer.
Temperatures have dropped considerably in the UK, so Ari and Ricky dressed appropriately cozy. Grande, for one, opted for an off-white and oversized fuzzy Amomento cardigan, worn over straight-leg blue jeans with white Sandy Liang patent ballet pumps and red socks. For accessories, a pair of round Loewe sunglasses and Irene Neuwirth gumball stud earrings. She wore her light brunette hair slicked back in a braided bun with a pale pink Alice headband. Álvarez, who kept his arm around Grande protectively as they strolled around, wore a dark blue denim trucker jacket, baggy beige pants, white lace-up shoes, and a navy knit beanie. (Yes, it got that cold in London.) The couple were seen picking up coffees at Present & Correct and visiting IDEA Books in Soho.
While we’ve not hit a coordinating couple style rhythm just yet, they have proved their commitment to each other this time around with matching tattoos. During one of her first London shows, Grande debuted the script, “I do love you,” which sits just on her collarbone. It matches one that Alvarez has inked in a similar place.
There was a few months of speculation that Grande and Álvarez had reunited, with Grande coyly teasing their coupledom.
Álvarez was a back-up dancer on the singer’s Honeymoon tour, and dated Grande between 2015 and 2016. He is referenced—alongside her previous partners Big Sean, Mac Miller, and Pete Davidson—in her 2019 hit song “thank u, next”: “wrote some songs about Ricky, now I listen and laugh.” Rumors began circulating that they had rekindled their relationship: In June, Álvarez was spotted at Grande’s birthday concert in Austin, Texas. The pair were seen hand-in-hand in New York City together, and later, began publicly commenting on each other’s social media posts. During one performance in Brooklyn, Grande changed the lyrics of “thank u, next”: “Wrote some songs about Ricky, we always find our way back.”
Grande and Álvarez became Instagram official last week, with a photo dump that featured several mirror selfies that showed them embracing.
With Eternal Sunshine shows all the way through to early September, expect to see more of Ariana Grande and Ricky Álvarez taking London to come: maybe a West End show? Dinner with Cynthia? This hard launch is far from over yet.