- - Why Does the Media Think Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande Can’t Just Be Friends?

Miu von Furstenberg February 16, 2026 at 7:11 PM

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Cynthia Erivo addresses rumors that she and Ariana Grande are in love, attributing them to societal discomfort with close female friendships.

Despite being linked to Lena Waithe and Grande dating Ethan Slater, the rumor mill persists, fueled by media fascination during the Wicked promotional tour.

Erivo emphasizes the need to normalize platonic female friendships and openly supports each other with Grande.

Cynthia Erivo has had enough of the internet’s collective delusion that she and Ariana Grande are secretly in love. In a cover interview with The Stylist published February 10, the Wicked star finally broke her silence on the rumor mill that’s been churning since she and Grande started holding hands through every emotional press junket.

“At first, I think people didn’t understand how it was possible for two women to be friends—close—and not lovers,” Erivo, 39, explained. “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.”

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande at the ‘Wicked: For Good’ European Premiere at Cineworld London Leicester Square in London on November 10, 2025. Photo Credit: Jonatha Brady/PA Images/INSTARimages

The media fixation reached fever pitch during the Wicked promotional tour, where every lingering hug and tear-streaked interview became evidence for armchair detectives convinced the costars were hiding a secret romance. Never mind that Erivo has been linked to Lena Waithe since 2022, or that Grande is dating their Wicked costar Ethan Slater. Facts rarely get in the way of a good conspiracy theory.

Erivo attributes the rumor to society’s general discomfort with intimate female friendship. “And 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 said. “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.”

The actress makes a fair point. When Paul Mescal joked to Grande during Variety’s Actors on Actors that she and Erivo were “obviously in love with each other,” Grande laughed and called their dynamic “insufferable.” But the comment reveals how easily genuine affection between women gets misread as romantic.

Erivo and Grande have been open about their bond throughout the Wicked press cycle, with Erivo writing in her 2025 book Simply More that they made a “pact” to support each other and “build on each other’s strengths.” They still text nearly every day.

Maybe it’s time we normalized women actually liking each other without assuming there’s more to the story. Then again, this is the internet we’re talking about.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”