It’s been quite a year for Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson.
As fans will recall, it was around this time last year the two sparked romance rumors. Although, their love story truly started back in 2016 when they met during Grande’s performance on Saturday Night Live.
While a source originally told E! News their relationship was “casual,” the singer and the SNL star proved it was something more. By June of 2018, the two had made their relationship Instagram official. Fans watched their love story unfold with tattoo tributes and PDA-packed posts. Less than two weeks later, the two were engaged. The comedian proposed to his leading lady with a pear-shaped engagement ring reportedly worth about $100,000.
“It was just really simple and really sweet,” Grande told the Zach Sang Show about the proposal. “We were just like hanging out, and he had a ring and he just asked me. It was really sweet. He didn’t get on the knee or anything, thank God…Oh my God, that would’ve been so googly.”
Over the course of the next two months, the pair continued to take their relationship to the next level. They made their red carpet debut as a couple, moved in together, and adopted a pet pig. Grande even named a song on her Sweetener album after her main man.
“I’m the happiest I’ve ever been,” the “Breathin” singer had told Paper Magazine at the time.
However, Grande soon experienced a tragic loss. In September 2018, her ex, Mac Miller, died at the age of 26. The singer then took some time to “heal and mend.”
In October 2018, Grande and Davidson called off their engagement and navigated life post-breakup. While there were a few initial awkward moments, including Davidson joking about the split on SNL, the two were able to move on and support one another. Grande even defended Davidson after he was targeted by bullies online.
“I know some of you are curious about the breakup, but the truth is, it’s nobody’s business and sometimes things just don’t work out, and that’s OK,” Davidson said on SNL‘s “Weekend Update.” “She’s a wonderful, strong person and I genuinely wish her all the happiness in the world.”
Grande also drew inspiration from the experience and released her chart-topping single “Thank U, Next.” The song looked back on the lessons she learned from each relationship and was an instant hit. She also released a record-breaking album by the same name.
“It was a big risk and a very scary thing to do, because it is my life,” she said on the Zach Sang Show. “I understand that to a lot of people, I’m not a real person, or it’s easy to just kind of like see me as like, a song or a picture or like a thing that kind of exists in their head and they know what they know and that’s it. But at the end of the day, these are people and relationships. It’s real s–t to me. It is real life and I spent a lot of time with each of those people…it was like scary to put in a song.”
To look back at Grande and Davidson’s time together, check out the gallery.
NBC
Start of Something New
Soon after confirming her split from rapper Mac Miller in May 2018, E! News confirms the pop star and Saturday Night Live comedian are casually dating. “Ariana was holding Mac together for a long time and it wasn’t a good relationship for her,” a source shares at the time. “She is in a very good place and very happy now.”
Pete Davidson/Instagram
Speaking Out Against the Haters
In an emotional Instagram Stories post, Davidson (who is open about his struggle with borderline personality disorder) defends himself from those who think the mental illness negatively impacts his relationship with Grande.
Let the Instagram Flirting Begin
A picture is worth a thousand words but an Instagram caption says it all. The lovebirds exchange flirty messages on social media and fans go wild.
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A Match Made in Hogwart’s Heaven
On May 30, 2018, the pair officially confirms their relationship by posing together on Instagram. Meanwhile, a source tells E! News, “Everyone thinks they’re really cute together. People don’t realize what a great sense of humor she has. It makes them a good match. They’re having a good time.”
Officially Inked
Things go from 0 to 100 when Pete debuts not one, but two tattoos as a tribute to his girlfriend of only a few weeks. The 24-year-old opts for Grande’s initials on his right thumb and an image of the black bunny mask the singer wears on the cover of her 2016 album Dangerous Woman on his neck.
Always On His Mind
In early June, Pete performs a stand-up comedy set at the Hollywood Improv, where he took a moment to shout out Ari. An eyewitness recalls, “He started saying how he felt so lucky like he won the lottery and couldn’t believe he was so lucky… After that, he kind of got into more of a comedy act, but it was pretty sweet because that was the most genuine and happy he seemed during the whole thing.”
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Head Over Heels
Ariana jokes on social media, “I am but a pete davidson update acc stay tuned for more (pete follows / comments sumtimes)”
A Surprise Proposal
They’re engaged! Multiple outlets report that Pete popped the question and Ariana said yes. “They’re just two people who found love quickly and make each other happy all the time,” a source shared with People. “They both started talking about it this past weekend. It’s nothing they’ve been hiding.”
BACKGRID
PDA Alert!
The two lock lips while out in NYC in late June.
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StreetEasy
Roomates!
Pete and Ariana become the proud inhabitants of a $16 million unit in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, which he later reveals was purchased by the pop star.
BACKGRID
B-Day Princess
Donning a Louis Vuitton-themed ensemble, Ariana celebrates her 25th birthday at a dinner gathering with her close pals and beau.
A Touching Tribute
In addition to getting Pete’s late father’s FDNY badge number tattooed on her foot, she begins wearing a gold pendant that belonged to him.
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247PAPS.TV / SplashNews.com
Sweetener
Grande leaves no stone unturned in her deeply personal fourth studio album, which drops in August. From “R.E.M.” to “Sweetener,” the star chronicles falling in love with Davidson, the man who comes through her life “like the sweetener you are.”
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/REX/Shutterstock
Date Night Done Right
The couple makes their red carpet debut at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards, where Ariana performs “God Is a Woman” and takes home the award for Best Pop Video.
247PAPS.TV / Splash News
A Tragic Turn
In September, news of Ariana’s beloved ex-boyfriend Mac Miller‘s death sends shockwaves through Hollywood. Originally scheduled to attend the 2018 Emmys in support of Davidson, the couple bows out in order to “take time to heal.”
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Piggy Smalls
Pete and Ariana adopted a pet teacup pig, which Ariana called an “emotional support animal” in a tweet. Pete tattooed the animal on his torso and Piggy even appeared in Ariana’s music video for “breathin.”
Work, work, work, work, work
Ariana supported Pete at Saturday Night Live and wrote, “I love you like Kanye loves Kanye.”
AP/Shutterstock
The End of the Engagement
In October 2018, news broke that the two had called off their engagement.
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We can’t wait to see what’s next for these two.