Ariana Grande Makes Her Red Carpet Return

It’s been a while since Ariana Grande has walked a major red carpet, but last night, she made her grand return with a surprising vintage dress and a brand new red carpet date.

Accompanied by boyfriend Ricky Álvarez, the 33-year-old actor attended the premiere of her upcoming film Focker-In-Law in a 1990s Badgley Mischka dress. Styled by Law Roach, she accessorized the ballgown with petite Swarovski hoop earings and a simple hair bow. With its drop waist, cascading florals, and a subtle check pattern, the tonal white look trades the fantasy-infued Glinda-isms of her Wicked era for a more domestic all-American sweetness.

Grande joins the popular Meet The Parents franchise as Olivia, the new girlfriend to Greg Focker (Ben Stiller)’s son. The role is her first since Wicked, and its premiere marked her first major red carpet since the Golden Globes in January. After wrapping the Eternal Sunshine Tour on September 1, Grande announced that she would be taking a break from public appearances, which included her withdrawal from London’s West End revival of Sunday in the Park With George. The hiatus came amidst concerns over her health, but earlier this week, Grande re-emerged to promote Focker-In-Law on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. It makes sense that she would choose to bring Álvarez along to the premiere, as the pair have been going steady for months.

Grande and Álvarez, a former backup dancer, first dated from 2015 to 2016 while. A decade after their split, the couple rekindled their relationship this summer. In one now-viral performance on her Eternal Sunshine Tour, Grande switched up the lyrics of “thank u, next” that mention Álvarez. The original lines, “Wrote some songs about Ricky / Now I listen and laugh,” were changed to, “Wrote some songs about Ricky / I’m tryna make him my last.” From their latest appearance alone, things appear to be pretty serious. After all, her last red carpet couple appearance was with then-fiancé Pete Davidson in 2018, so perhaps Álvarez really is end-game.