Ariana Grande Spotted With Ex Ricky Alvarez The Day She Declares She’s Single, Per ‘E! News’

On Tuesday afternoon, Ariana Grande was spotted on a friendly stroll through New York City with her ex-boyfriend, dancer Ricky Alvarez, according to E! News. That same day, the pop singer shut down relationship rumors, declaring on social media that she isn’t dating anyone at the moment and won’t be for the rest of 2019–or maybe for the rest of her life.

The “Thank U, Next” singer was photographed strolling through the city beside Alvarez, wearing a giant puffer jacket, thigh-high boots, and a mask covering her face. Her luscious long hair ran out of the jacket’s big hood.

Alvarez and Grande dated for about a year before breaking it off in the summer of 2016, according to Seventeen. The 26-year-old dancer is one of several exes that Grande shouted out in her record-breaking 2018 hit “Thank U, Next,” dedicated to thanking all of her ex-boyfriends for helping her grow.

Of the exes mentioned in Grande’s track, though, Alvarez’s lyric was known by her fans as the “shadiest” one. The pop singer called Mac Miller an angel and said she is “so thankful” for Pete Davidson, but when it came to Alvarez, she only said that she laughs at the songs she used to write about him.

“Used to write songs about Ricky/ Now I listen and laugh,” the lyric stated.

Despite the lyric, Grande explained in December that she and Alvarez are good friends. Rumors had sparked last month that the two reconciled their relationship when Grande commented on one of his Instagram photos, but she quickly assured fans that the two were not together.

“We’re friends everyone take a big ol breather,” she replied to one commenter who asked what was going on.

In fact, the pop star made it clear this week that she won’t be dating anyone for a while. On New Year’s Day, she saw a headline on Twitter that read “Who Is Ariana Dating NOW?!”

Grande’s cheeky response, “Can they tell me too?”

She added that “for the rest of the year/probably my life: it’s no one. Please refer back to this tweet for future questions.”

It’s clear that the singer is taking time for herself in 2019. On Monday evening, she wished her tumultuous 2018 farewell and welcomed the new year with a post on Instagram, according to NME.

“Farewell 2018, you f**k. I hope this new year brings you all much laughter, clarity and healing,” Grande wrote beside an image of herself. “Be gentle with yourselves and each other. if we made it thru this last year, we’ll for sure make it thru this one.”