It’s complicated. Both Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson are said to be struggling after calling off their engagement. Grande returned for her first public appearance since the split from Davidson, while the Saturday Night Live star continued to take a few days off from work. Davidson, 24, backed out of a scheduled comedy performance at Temple University earlier this week. He will be able also to take advantage of the SNL hiatus since the show does not return until Saturday, Nov. 3.
Grande had missed the final dress rehearsal for Wicked‘s 15th-anniversary special, but she showed up to perform “The Wizard and I” during the final taping of the show that will air on NBC later this month. She joined original Wicked stars Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth as well as the musical’s current Broadway company for the show’s 15th anniversary, A Very Wicked Halloween: Celebrating 15 Years on Broadway.
Grande posted photos of herself with Menzel at the taping. The “No Tears Left To Cry” singer later told fans she’s taking a break from social media. “Ok today was v special and i’m so grateful i was able to be there,” she wrote in a now deleted Instagram story.
“Time to say bye bye again to the internet for just a lil bit,” Grande added. “It’s hard not to bump news n stuff that I’m not trying to see rn. It’s very sad and we’re all tryin very hard to keep going. love u. and thank u for bein here always.”
Grande and Davidson got engaged after just a few weeks of dating but called off their wedding plans in only four months. “They realized it happened too quick and too early,” an insider said. “The wedding is off, but they’re working things out. They’re not officially done yet.” Another source revealed the romance was “always very up and down.”
Their relationship was tremendously strained by the death of rapper Mac Miller, a source says. Miller was by Grande’s side following the suicide bombing that killed 22 people at her Manchester concert. The pair dated for two years before their May breakup. Miller died in September at age 26 of an apparent drug overdose.
Fans noticed there were danger signals early in the Grande-Davidson romance despite public displays of affection. Davidson tattooed a Playboy bunny ears mask on the left side of his neck soon after the couple started dating. The emblem closely resembled the one Grande wore on her Dangerous Woman album cover. The tattoo disappeared just days before the split was announced, covered over by a large heart tattoo.
SNL producer Lorne Michaels cited “emotional” reasons” when Grande opted out of a Sept. 17 comedy sketch. She also dropped out of attending a cancer benefit hosted by her manager Scooter Braun the day before news broke about the split.
