Ariana Grande and Ricky Álvarez walked their first red carpet together on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, at the New York world premiere of Focker-in-Law at the Beacon Theatre. The appearance came a few months after the pair, who first dated about a decade ago, rekindled their relationship.
What We Know
The singer and actress arrived at Universal Pictures’ premiere on Manhattan’s Upper West Side with Álvarez at her side, marking the first time the couple had posed for photographers together at a public event, according to Billboard and Women’s Wear Daily.
Grande chose a white-and-gray plaid ballgown with spaghetti straps, a vintage-inspired look that WWD identified as a revived 1990s Badgley Mischka design. She wore her short bob pulled back into a ponytail finished with a white satin bow. Álvarez kept it simple in a black sport coat, a white collared shirt and jeans.
The evening was a double milestone for Grande. Beyond the public debut of her relationship, it was the premiere of a film that puts her at the center of a beloved comedy franchise, and outlets including TMZ and Extra covered the couple’s arrival as one of the night’s main talking points.
Background
Grande and Álvarez are not a new pairing. Billboard reports they dated for a little over a year in 2015 and 2016. The two reconnected in June 2026 and made things Instagram official in August. Until Wednesday, though, they had not been photographed together on a red carpet.
Focker-in-Law is the fourth chapter of the comedy series that began with Meet the Parents in 2000 and continued with Meet the Fockers and Little Fockers. Ben Stiller returns as Greg Focker, alongside Teri Polo as Pam and Robert De Niro as her famously suspicious father, Jack Byrnes. Fans may also remember Owen Wilson as Pam’s ex Kevin in the original films.
This time the roles are partly reversed. Grande plays Olivia Jones, a life coach and former FBI hostage negotiator who is dating Greg and Pam’s son Henry, played by Skyler Gisondo. The first trailer, released in April, played up that twist, with Grande’s character facing her own lie-detector test in the family tradition.
For Ariana Grande, the film continues a run of high-profile screen work following her turn as Glinda in the two Wicked films, a role that brought her some of the strongest reviews of her career.
Reactions
Grande has spoken openly about how surprised she was to land the part. Appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, she described the experience of joining the franchise as “very surreal,” Billboard noted, recalling that when the script arrived she wondered how she had “earned the right to even read this.”
What’s Next
Focker-in-Law opens in theaters on November 25, 2026, giving Universal a family comedy for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in the United States. Additional premieres and press appearances are expected in the run-up to release, and the couple’s next joint outing is likely to draw just as much attention.
Sources
- Billboard (via Yahoo Entertainment): Ariana Grande & Ricky Alvarez Make Red-Carpet Debut at ‘Focker-in-Law’ NYC Premiere
- WWD: Ariana Grande and Ricky Alvarez Make Their Red Carpet Debut
- TMZ: Ariana Grande and Ricky Álvarez Make Red Carpet Debut
- Extra: Ariana Grande & Ricky Alvarez Make Red-Carpet Debut