Ariana Grande Addresses Pete Davidson Split Following Mac Miller’s Death In New Song
Ariana Grande just dropped her new album, thank u, next, and everyone is picking apart the lyrics to try and spot all the Pete Davidson and Mac Miller references.
Fans quickly spotted that a particular song, “Ghostin,” seemed to describe how her engagement to the Saturday Night Live star fell apart after the death of her ex-boyfriend, rapper Mac Miller, which affected her immensely. According to Elle, Ariana previously explained on Twitter that the song was about “feeling badly for the person you’re with bc you love somebody else. feeling badly bc he can tell he can’t compare,” which sparked speculation that it actually referred to Pete and how her past relationship ended up affecting her current one.
Ariana and Mac Miller dated for two years before breaking up early last year, and she got engaged to Pete, 25, shortly after. The two even moved in together to a new apartment in New York City that she bought, and often expressed their love on social media, becoming one of the most popular A-list couples out there. But when Miller died at the young age of 26 in September 2018, the pop star reportedly struggled to deal with his passing, which eventually took a toll on her romance with Pete. The couple ended up calling it quits in October.
In “Ghostin,” Ariana sings: “I know you hear me when I cry / I try to hold it in at night / While you’re sleepin’ next to me.” As reported by Elle, this could be a reference to when she and Pete shared their Chelsea apartment, and how much she was hurting during that period. “If you were anybody else / Probably wouldn’t last a day / Heavy tears, a rain parade from hell (From hell),” she added.
According to several reports, it was Ariana who called it quits on her whirlwind engagement to Pete, as she realized that she needed time for herself and to heal following Miller’s drug overdose. And in the following lyrics, she appears to address the fact that, despite her ex-fiance’s attempt to comfort her, the pain was too much for their relationship to handle: “Baby, you do it so well / You been so understanding, you been so good / And I’m puttin’ you through more than one ever should / And I’m hating myself ’cause you don’t want to / Admit that it hurts you,” adding, “I know that it breaks your heart when I cry again / Over him, mmh.”
The sweetener singer has previously talked about how much Miller meant to her, particularly in an Instagram post after his death, where she said he had been her best friend for years, and that he was the “kindest, sweetest soul with demons he never deserved.” Pete, on the other hand, who also struggled with mental health issues following their split, appears to be back on track now that he’s dating British actress Kate Beckinsale, who is 20 years his senior.
