Ariana Grande and Ricky Alvarez made their first official red-carpet appearance as a couple at the premiere of “Focker-in-Law” in New York City on Wednesday evening, with Alvarez wrapping his arms around the singer for photos.
Grande, 33, wore an off-white and gray tartan-patterned ballgown and styled her hair in a sleek ponytail, showing off a recently shortened cut. She paired the look with simple earrings and soft pink makeup. Alvarez wore casual cuffed jeans with a black blazer, brown shoes and a classic belt.
Photos from the event show the pair facing each other, holding hands, and at one point Grande resting her hand on Alvarez’s chest.
The appearance follows an August announcement from a representative for Grande that she would be “stepping back from public-facing work” after her “Eternal Sunshine” tour concluded on Sept. 1, in order to spend more time on her personal life.
“She’ll be spending a lot of time with her family, friends and Ricky,” a source told Page Six at the time. “Between touring, rehearsals and her other work commitments, she and Ricky haven’t been able to spend as much time together as she would have liked over the past few months, so she’s looking forward to having more uninterrupted time with him.”
Grande also withdrew from a planned West End production of “Sundays in the Park with George” opposite Jonathan Bailey, which had been scheduled to open in the spring.
A source told Page Six in September that Grande, who reconnected with Alvarez earlier this year after a brief relationship in 2015, is “in an amazing place” and “really happy.”
Since confirming the relationship on Instagram over the summer, the two have been seen with matching “love” tattoos and kissing in public. In September, Grande changed a lyric in her song “thank u, next” during a performance, singing, “Wrote some songs about Ricky / I’m tryna make him my last,” a line read by fans as a hint she hopes the relationship will become permanent.
The romance follows Grande’s breakup with “Wicked” co-star Ethan Slater after three years together. “Ariana and Ethan broke up several months ago but they’ve remained friends since then and have nothing but respect and admiration for one another,” a source told Page Six in June. “This wasn’t a decision they took lightly but realized they were better off friends than in a committed relationship.”
