Red Flags In Ariana Grande's Past Relationships We Learned From

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Ariana Grande has a spicy relationship history that, as much as we hate to say it, is full of missed red flags. But while this superstar has found herself with more than one "Problem" when it comes to her exes, thankfully, her candidness about her personal life had helped us learn a lot. One of the most notable lessons? That on-and-off relationships are rarely healthy — particularly after a contentious breakup.

The "thank u, next" singer had an up-and-down romance with Jai Brooks, who she originally split with in 2012. Following their breakup, Brooks publicly accused Grande of cheating, but she clapped back. "You said to me if I didn't come back to you, you'd make me look bad to the entire world... I'm no longer afraid of you or your lies anymore," she wrote on Twitter/X (via Cosmopolitan). She continued, in part, "Girls... RESPECT YOURSELVES ... Never let any man discredit u or the values you were raised with."

But, despite the back and forth, they got back together in 2014. "When he came and apologized to her and begged for a second chance, she decided to follow her heart and give him one. She never cheated on him and has always loved him," a source told Hollywood Life. They broke up again a few months later though when an E! News source claimed Brooks didn't fully support his now-ex amid the passing of her grandfather. Though we've given permission to get back with your ex (sometimes!), this was one of the occasions we wouldn't have recommended it. Brooks' very public defamation of Grande was a major red flag and, in the words of Maya Angelou, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time." Though that's not the only red flag in Grande's past.

Ariana Grande's relationship with Pete Davidson progressed too quickly. On May 21, 2018, a People source confirmed their romance, sharing, "[It] just started [and] it's very casual." But it didn't stay casual for long. In early June, Davidson got a tattoo inspired by Grande before proposing to her around June 11. A week later (less than a month after they started dating, if you're keeping count) the two appeared to have moved in together. But things were over just as quickly as they began, and a source told People shortly after their October 2018 split that moving too fast impacted things. "It was way too much too soon. It's not shocking to anyone," the insider said.

The fast-paced nature of their romance was a huge red flag seeing as Grande later described being with the "Saturday Night Live" star as a "distraction." She told Vogue, "...I met Pete, and it was an amazing distraction. It was frivolous and fun and insane and highly unrealistic, and I loved him, and I didn't know him." Though strong relationships can potentially grow from a fun fling after an intense breakup, Davidson also suggested the "Supernatural" hitmaker likely wasn't fully healed from her previous relationship with Mac Miller. During a YouTube interview with Charlamagne Tha God, he admitted he knew things were over with Grande after Miller's untimely death. "That was really horrible and I can't imagine what that s**t is like," he said. "All I do know is that she really loved the s**t out of him, and she wasn't putting on a show or anything." The red flag here we learned from? Not to jump into new relationships until you're fully healed from a previous, and to take it slow until you're truly sure what you want.

There's been a lot of chatter about if Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson's relationship began while both were seeing other people. TMZ claimed Grande broke up with the late rapper Mac Miller on May 8, 2018, and Us Weekly reported Davidson called things off with his former girlfriend Cazzie David around May 16, 2018. The awkward part? Davidson confirmed on "The Howard Stern Show" that he and Grande first spent time together after that year's Met Gala on May 7, 2018, suggesting both were in relationships at the time.

That wasn't the first time Grande was accused of cheating, either. The late Naya Rivera claimed in her book, "Sorry Not Sorry," that Grande supposedly spent time with Big Sean (who she dated for several months) while the rapper was still engaged to her. "I walk in, go downstairs, and guess what little girl is sitting cross-legged on the couch listening to music? ... It rhymes with 'Smariana Schmande,'" the "Glee" star claimed.

Though they say all in love is fair, a relationship that starts as cheating is less likely to go the distance. In fact, a study by psychologist Dr. Shirley Glass and documented in her book "Not Just Friends: Rebuilding Trust and Recovering Your Sanity After Infidelity" found only around 25% of relationships born out of infidelity go the distance. And Grande wasn't one of the lucky ones with Davidson or Big Sean, which supports those statistics. Equally, a 2018 University of Denver study found a person who's cheated before is three times more likely to do it again than someone who's never cheated — making that a red flag we've learned to avoid.

Ariana Grande has also taught us the dangers of a lack of quality time in a relationship, as the demise of two of her past romances have been blamed on not spending enough time together. The most notable is the end of her two-year marriage to Dalton Gomez in 2023, which was reportedly hindered by her spending a lot of time in the U.K. filming "Wicked." "It's definitely been an issue for them. Dalton's career is demanding and he can't leave Los Angeles often. So when [Grande] started filming 'Wicked' in England, they were in for a long-distance marriage," a source told People. An Us Weekly insider had shared a similar story about her split with former The Wanted singer Nathan Sykes a decade earlier. "[They] hardly ever saw each other," they claimed.

Grande's experience drifting apart from her exes is a great lesson, as it demonstrates the importance of making time to physically be with a partner. Though how much time together will vary depending on the couple and their other commitments, the significance of being physically close is incredibly important. Jenni Skyler, Ph.D., a licensed marriage and family therapist, explained to Martha Stewart that regular cuddles can have a big impact on the strength of a relationship. "The shared skin time releases oxytocin, which helps bond two people. Cuddling also fosters affectionate intimacy so that couples have ways to connect skin-to-skin," she said.

A partner experiencing or recovering from addiction isn't always a red flag if they're getting or have gotten help, but it can have a serious impact on a couple's ability to have a serious relationship. We saw that during Ariana Grande's romance with Mac Miller, who was open about his struggles before tragically passing away of a drug overdose. "Partners of addicts often experience worry and a sense of hyper-vigilance around their partner's behavior," Nicole Moore, celebrity love coach and body language expert, exclusively told Women while discussing Pete Davidson and Elsie Hewitt's red flags. If the sober partner is unable to relax and trust their partner to make healthy decisions, it's unlikely the relationship will work out, as addiction issues can become all-consuming on both sides.

Grande taught us that when she spoke candidly about how difficult she found being in a relationship with Miller amid his addiction. "By no means was what we had perfect, but, like, f**k. He was the best person ever, and he didn't deserve the demons he had," she told Vogue after Miller's death. "I was the glue for such a long time, and I found myself becoming... less and less sticky. The pieces just started to float away," she said.