Cynthia Erivo Addresses Those Ariana Grande Romance Rumors and the "Strange Fascination" With Their Relationship
Cynthia Erivo Addresses Those Ariana Grande Romance Rumors and the "Strange Fascination" With Their Relationship
Emma BanksMon, February 16, 2026 at 7:50 PM UTC
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Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo at the New York City premiere of 'Wicked: For Good.'
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The Gist -
Cynthia Erivo addressed the long-running rumor that she and her Wicked co-star Ariana Grande are secretly in love.
The Harriet actress called the speculation "strange."
She also explained that platonic intimacy "sometimes just makes people uncomfortable."
Cynthia Erivo is finally setting the record straight when it comes to the long-running rumor that she and her Wicked co-star Ariana Grande were (slash are?) secretly in a relationship. Long story short: the Harriet actress finds all the speculation "strange."
"At first, I think people didn't understand how it was possible for two women to be friends—close—and not lovers,” Erivo recently told Stylist. “...There was this strange fascination with the two of us, where people either thought we were putting it on for the cameras or that we were lovers."
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande at the 2025 National Board of Review Annual Awards Gala.
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“I think it's because there's such little conversation around platonic female friendship that is deep and real, even though it exists everywhere,” she added. “We're not used to seeing it on camera, in front of people.”
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Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande at the 2025 Critics Choice Awards.
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Erivo and Grande co-star as Elphaba and Glinda, respectively, in the Wicked film franchise. Setting aside the romance rumors, the pair do have a famously intimate relationship, and their closeness has been well documented since the first Wicked press tour back in 2024. This time last year, Grande revealed that fans even thought they had gone so far as to secretly get married.
The “7 Rings” singer also made light about some of the romantic fan fiction between their two characters that she’d seen online. “I wish I could unsee some things,” she said at the time. “I mean, wow, I had a feeling, but I didn’t know it would be on this scale or this graphic.”
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande at Palm Springs International Film Festival.
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Elsewhere in Erivo's interview, meanwhile, the actress chalked up the speculation to the fact that their platonic intimacy might just be making some fans "uncomfortable," adding, "we aren't taught that those relationships are good for us."
on InStyle
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
