Slater Learned of Grande's Alvarez Reunion the Hard Way, Sources Say

Ethan Slater reportedly did not receive a personal heads-up before Ariana Grande and former backup dancer Ricky Alvarez resurfaced as a couple in the weeks following his split from the pop star.

Ethan Slater reportedly learned of Ariana Grande's rekindled relationship with Ricky Alvarez through public channels, not from Grande directly.
Grande and Alvarez, who previously dated circa 2015–2016, began drawing headlines shortly after news of the Slater split broke.
Alvarez served as a backup dancer on Grande's tours before their original relationship became public.
Sources described Slater's discovery as coming via the same tabloid coverage available to anyone with a phone.
Grande and Slater's relationship itself became public in 2023 shortly after both filed for divorce from their respective spouses.

Ethan Slater found out that Ariana Grande had resumed a relationship with Ricky Alvarez roughly the same way most people did, according to a Page Six report published July 17, 2026.

Alvarez, a backup dancer who toured with Grande and dated her briefly around 2015 and 2016, re-entered her orbit in the weeks after the Grande-Slater split became public. Slater, per the report, received no direct communication from Grande before the reunion surfaced.

The sequencing is notable. Grande and Slater went public as a couple in the summer of 2023, weeks after both had filed for divorce from their then-spouses. Slater's divorce from Lilly Jay was finalized in late 2023. Grande's divorce from Dalton Gomez concluded around the same period.

Alvarez is not an obscure figure in Grande's history. His name appeared in her 2016 single “Into You,” according to multiple prior reports citing Grande's own acknowledgments. He was present on the tour. He was on the payroll.

The report does not specify which publication, post, or paparazzo photograph delivered the news to Slater. It does note he was not on the receiving end of a phone call first.