Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo: Friendship Timeline & Updates

Last updated: October 10, 2026

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Are Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo dating? No — the two Wicked stars are not in a romantic relationship, married, or engaged. They are devoted friends and collaborators whose bond grew out of playing Glinda and Elphaba together, and both women have said so plainly, again and again.

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Quick Answer

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are best friends — not partners. The pop superstar and the Broadway powerhouse became inseparable while filming the two-part Wicked movie, and their warm, tactile friendship became one of the most talked-about celebrity bonds of the last few years. Rumors of a romance or a secret falling-out have followed them, but the women themselves keep correcting the record: they text almost every day and chose, deliberately and early on, to take care of each other.

Illustration for Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo

Who Are Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo?

Ariana Grande is a Grammy-winning pop singer and actress whose albums from Yours Truly through Eternal Sunshine made her one of the best-selling artists of her generation. Raised in Florida, she first became known on television before a string of chart-topping records, sold-out arena tours, and a celebrated pivot into film acting with Wicked, where she plays the good witch Glinda.

Cynthia Erivo is an English actress and singer whose career has moved masterfully between stage and screen. She won a Tony, a Grammy, and an Emmy for her Broadway turn as Celie in The Color Purple, and she earned Oscar nominations for Harriet and for playing Elphaba in Wicked. Long before the green makeup, she was already one of the most decorated performers of her generation — and one Oscar away from the rare EGOT.

Relationship Timeline

Their story is not a romance timeline — it is a friendship timeline, and it is unusually well documented, mostly because the two have been so open about it.

  • November 2021 — The casting: Director Jon M. Chu announced that Grande and Erivo would star as Glinda and Elphaba in Universal’s two-part Wicked film adaptation. The news immediately set fan communities buzzing.
  • 2022–2024 — Filming in the UK: The two films shot across the United Kingdom over an extended production schedule. Erivo later revealed that early in the process, both women made a deliberate “conscious decision” to actively nurture their relationship.
  • November 2024 — Wicked premieres: Wicked arrived in theaters on November 22, 2024, to box office success and awards buzz. The press tour became a cultural event of its own: Grande and Erivo were constantly together — tearful, hand-holding, finishing each other’s sentences — including the instantly viral “holding space” interview.
  • December 2024 — The hand-holding explained: On The Drew Barrymore Show, Erivo addressed their physical closeness head-on, saying they walk hand-in-hand “very often” and that physical connection can be purely platonic.
  • November 2025 — Wicked: For Good: The second film, subtitled For Good, completed the two-part adaptation with its November 2025 release, closing out the long Wicked production chapter the two had shared for nearly four years.
  • November 2025 — Grande on the Good Hang podcast: Appearing on Amy Poehler’s podcast, Grande spoke about how she channels energy through her hands and how the two had “worked hard to maintain” their friendship once filming ended.
  • May 2026 — Erivo sets the record straight: In a widely covered Variety interview, Erivo pushed back on years of speculation: she was surprised people doubted the friendship was real, noted that the pair still text almost every day, and firmly dismissed whispers of a romantic angle.
  • August 2026 — The feud rumors: After the long Wicked promotional cycle ended and the two were seen together less often, some outlets and social media accounts began speculating about a rift. No direct statement from either woman ever confirmed a falling-out; the rumor rested on absence, not evidence.
  • August 2026 — The London reunion: Feud talk died down when Erivo joined Grande on stage at the O2 Arena during Grande’s Eternal Sunshine tour. The pair performed the Wicked: For Good duet “For Good” plus “Get Happy/Happy Days Are Here Again,” and Grande kissed Erivo’s hand mid-performance as fans cheered.
  • August 21, 2026 — “i love you always”: Grande posted an emotional Instagram reel dedicated to Erivo, captioned with words like “it will always come back to this… i love you always” — a tribute to the Wicked journey as the foundation of something permanent.

Latest Updates

The most significant recent development came from Erivo herself in the spring of 2026, when she told Variety that the two remain in near-daily contact — the most direct rebuttal available to every rumor that the friendship was staged or had faded. Then came the August 2026 London performance: whatever distance the rumor mill imagined between them did not survive a duet in front of a roaring arena crowd.

Meanwhile, both women’s personal lives have their own headlines. Grande quietly split from Ethan Slater — her Wicked co-star turned partner of nearly three years — in mid-2026, with both sources describing the parting as amicable and supportive. Erivo, for her part, is in a long-term relationship with writer and producer Lena Waithe, a partnership reportedly dating back to around 2020; engagement and marriage rumors have circulated but were never confirmed. In other words: neither woman is romantically linked to the other, because each has her own clearly established personal life — and what links them is one of the most publicly documented friendships in modern Hollywood.

For more celebrity explainers and relationship breakdowns, visit AllAboutFacts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo dating?
No. They are close friends and former Wicked co-stars. Both have addressed the question — Erivo most directly in her 2026 Variety interview — and both describe a platonic bond they deliberately built during filming.

Are Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo married — to each other or anyone?
Not to each other, and not to anyone else right now either. Grande’s marriage to Dalton Gomez ended in divorce, and she later split from Ethan Slater in 2026. Erivo has never been married, though she is in a long-term relationship with Lena Waithe.

Did Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo have a falling out?
There is no credible evidence of one. The 2026 “feud” narrative was built on them simply appearing together less often after the Wicked press cycle wound down, and it collapsed the moment they reunited on stage in London in August 2026.

Are Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo still friends?
Yes — by their own account, very much so. Erivo said they text almost every day, Grande dedicated a heartfelt August 2026 tribute to her, and their on-stage reunion in London showed a bond that is clearly intact.

Faizi is a content writer at AllAboutFacts (hotteamnames.com), covering vocabulary, language tips, and everyday explainers.

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