It’s red-carpet official: Ariana Grande brought her long-rumored boyfriend Ricky Alvarez to the Focker-in-Law premiere on Wednesday night (Nov. 11) at New York’s Beacon Theatre.
Though they originally dated for a little over a year back in 2015-16, the couple were only snapped on a red carpet for the very first time on Wednesday night. Grande wore a white-and-gray plaid spaghetti-strap ballgown for the occasion, while Alvarez kept it more casual in a black sport coat, white collared shirt and jeans.
In videos from the red carpet, Grande can be seen waving at fans and taking photos on her own as well as with Alvarez. Grande recently shared a new bob hairdo in Instagram photos, but in the red-carpet snaps, she pulled the short haircut back into her signature ponytail and finished it with a white satin bow.
Grande is making her debut in the Fockers film series that started with 2000’s Meet the Parents, starring in the fourth film, Focker-in-Law, which arrives in theaters the week of Thanksgiving, on Nov. 25. Grande plays Olivia Jones, the girlfriend of Henry Focker (Skyler Gisondo), the now-adult son of Greg (Ben Stiller) and Pam (Teri Polo). Olivia is a life coach and former FBI hostage negotiator who makes a quick connection with Robert De Niro’s typically unapproachable character Jack Byrnes.
“I fell in love with [the script], and I was just like, ‘How have I earned the right to even read this, let alone join this incredible cast and play on set with the most incredible actors and comedians in the world?’” Grande said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon of getting the chance to be in Focker-in-Law. “So it was very surreal.”
Ahead of Wednesday’s red carpet, Grande and Alvarez reconnected in June of this year and then went Instagram official with their romance in August.
Ricky Álvarez and Ariana Grande attend Universal Pictures’ “Focker In-Law” World Premiere at Beacon Theatre on November 11, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
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