Cynthia Erivo has revealed the truth about her relationship with Ariana Grande following speculation that the pair were secretly involved in a romance.
The Wicked press tours were a strange time to be on the internet.
From the moment filming ended in 2024, everything online was aimed directly at the chemistry between its two leading ladies- something we’ve never quite seen before.
The pair, who play Elphaba and Glinda respectively in the live-action retelling of the Broadway adaptation of The Wizard of Oz’s witch characters, could be seen crying in almost every interview clip.
There was also the controversial ‘holding space’ moment, drama over Grande’s boyfriend and co-star, Ethan Slater and the end of his marriage vs the start of their relationship, and so much more.
But what seemed to capture people’s attention the most on social media, was the way that the two women were incredibly close to one another, touchy, and locked into each other when speaking.
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande have been close during the filming of their Wicked flicks (Universal Pictures)
Because of this, some online speculated the pair were in a secret lover situation
However, Erivo has finally come out to reveal it all.
Erivo, who has been dating Lena Waithe for around a year, and Grande, who has been with Slater since 2023…are not in a relationship.
During an interview with Stylist, Erivo took the opportunity to explain their friendship, and also call out some home truths.
“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 went on to speculate that the reason people thought they were together was because ‘there’s 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.’
People speculated the pair were secretly dating (Photo by Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic)
“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 online who saw her response had some mixed reactions.
While some understood where she was coming from, others were adamant that their energy toward each other isn’t normal.
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.”
Well, people will always talk.
