Cynthia Erivo Responds To Rumors About Her Relationship With Ariana Grande After Secret Romance Claims

Cynthia Erivo has finally spoken out about her relationship with Ariana Grande after months of online rumors suggesting the two were secretly romantically involved.

The Wicked press tour created a strange atmosphere online. Social media users seemed to analyze every glance, every hug, and every emotional moment between the two stars.

From the time filming wrapped in 2024, much of the online conversation focused on the strong chemistry between the film’s leading women. It became one of the main talking points around the movie, and the attention did not slow down.

Erivo and Grande play Elphaba and Glinda in the live-action adaptation of the Broadway musical inspired by The Wizard of Oz. During interviews, the two were often emotional, sometimes tearing up while discussing the project and their experience working together.

There was also the widely discussed “holding space” moment, as well as public interest in Grande’s relationship with her co-star Ethan Slater and the timeline surrounding his previous marriage. All of that added fuel to the online conversation.

However, what seemed to spark the most speculation was how physically close the two actresses appeared in interviews. They often held hands, leaned toward each other, and seemed fully focused on one another while speaking, which some viewers interpreted as something more than friendship.

Because of this, some people online began suggesting that the pair were secretly in a romantic relationship.

Now, Erivo has addressed those rumors directly and clarified where things stand.

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande have been close during the filming of their Wicked flicks Universal Pictures

Erivo, who has been in a relationship with Lena Waithe for about a year, and Grande, who has been dating Slater since 2023, are not romantically involved with each other.

In an interview with Stylist, Erivo explained the nature of their friendship and pushed back against the assumptions being made.

"At first, I think people didn't understand how it was possible for two women to be friends - close - and not lovers," she told the publication.

"I've never really spoken about this, but 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."

She suggested that part of the speculation may come from how rarely deep, close female friendships are openly discussed. She said there is “such little conversation around platonic female friendship that is deep and real, even though it exists everywhere. We're not used to seeing it on camera, in front of people.”

"A relationship where people are connected sometimes just makes people uncomfortable; we aren't taught that those relationships are good for us," she concluded.

People speculated the pair were secretly dating Photo by Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic

Her comments received mixed reactions online.

Some people agreed with her point about platonic friendships being misunderstood. Others insisted that the dynamic between the two actresses felt unusual to them.

One person said: "You can be connected with your friends without doing what they were doing lol."

Another wrote: "People express themselves differently, they aren't hurting anyone."

Someone else said: "Is she honestly claiming there's little conversation about deep platonic female friendships? Really? It's shown everywhere from books to movies to TV shows and is very commonly experienced in real life, too."

One person joked: "Just friends? Clearly impossible. In the grand cinematic universe of the internet two women can only be lovers, rivals or PR holograms."

At the end of the day, public figures often find themselves at the center of speculation. No matter what they say, people tend to keep talking.