Ariana Grande Reveals Her Ex-Boyfriends Heard ‘Thank U, Next’ Before It Was Released

Ariana Grande is setting the record straight on her latest record—and teasing a new one. The 25-year-old pop superstar dropped a surprise single over the weekend in which she called out the names of some of her famous exes, including Big Sean, Ricky Alvarez, Pete Davidson, and late rapper Mac Miller. But the song was not a total surprise for at least some of Grande’s former beaus.

In the new track, Grande references her exes, singing, “Thought I’d end up with Sean / But he wasn’t a match / Wrote songs about Ricky / Now I listen and laugh / Even almost got married / And for Pete, I’m so thankful / Wish I could say ‘thank you’ to Malcolm / ‘Cause he was an angel.”

Of her ex loves, Grande added, “One taught me love / One taught me patience / One taught me pain / Now, I’m so amazing / I’ve loved and I’ve lost.”

While the new track was a surprise to some, Grande made it clear that she ran it by a couple of her exes before it was released, per Entertainment Tonight. The “Sweetener” singer took to Twitter to respond to a follower who posted a “confused” gif with the caption, “Sean and Ricky hearing they names in thank u next.”

“They heard it before it came out,” Grande revealed, adding a heart emoji and a smiley face.

Ariana Grande says two of her exes heard her new track before it came out: https://t.co/MfZuyG2rQ0

— Us Weekly (@usweekly) November 4, 2018

Ariana Grande and rap star Big Sean dated for eight months, splitting in April 2015. In July of that year, Grande was linked to backup dancer Ricky Alvarez, whom she dated for a year. And in 2018, Grande’s whirlwind year included a breakup with Mac Miller, a fast-paced relationship and engagement with Pete Davidson, and the subsequent death of Miller in September and breakup with Davidson a few weeks later.

Ariana Grande has not revealed if Pete Davidson heard “Thank u, next” before the rest of the world did, but she said up front that the song would be “far from a diss track.” In fact, “it’s the opposite,” she tweeted, per E! News.

“No drags… no shade…. just love, gratitude, acceptance, honesty, forgiveness… and growth,” Ariana Grande tweeted ahead of the song’s release.

After the surprise release of “Thank u next,” Ariana Grande hit social media once more to share a message of gratitude for her fans, and she teased the release of the video for her new song “Breathin'” later this week.

“Thank u for hearing me and for making me feel so not alone,” Grade captioned the Instagram.”I truly am grateful. no matter how painful! I’m thankful and I love u.”