With the release of Eternal Sunshine right around the corner, Arianators are ready to dissect 13 new tracks filled with heartwrenching lyrics and self-love bops. Although many people speculate that the album will be about Ariana Grande’s divorce from Dalton Gomez, some fans theorize that she’ll also pay homage to her late boyfriend Mac Miller, whom she dated from 2016 to 2018. The biggest clue that Miller might play a role in Eternal Sunshine? The album is named after one of his favorite movies, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
After Miller’s death in September 2018, Grande has continued to incorporate references to him in her music. The song “Off the Table” from Positions is widely rumored to be about him, and Grande directly calls him an angel in the song “thank u, next.” We’ll have to wait for Eternal Sunshine to drop on March 8 to see if Miller makes another subtle appearance in Grande’s discography. Until then, let’s take a trip down Honeymoon Avenue and review Ariana Grande and Mac Miller’s relationship timeline.
2012: A Twitter exchange leads to their first collab.
While watching the 2012 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Grande asked her fans via Twitter what they were thankful for that year. Miller responded, and the two recorded a cover of “Baby It’s Cold Outside” for Grande’s YouTube channel (the video has since been deleted).
Grande told Cosmopolitan in 2017, “I met him when I was 19. We have loved and adored and respected each other since the beginning, since before we even met, just because we were fans of each other’s talent.”
2013: “The Way” comes out.
When you think of Mac and Ari, you probably think of this song. “The Way” was the lead single off of Grande’s debut album Yours Truly, and Miller is featured in a rap verse that you and your friends can probably scream every word to. It’s an iconic part of Grande’s career – and her relationship with Miller.
Grande explained to Billboard that she asked Miller to hop on the track after they’d been hanging out for a while. She shared, “When he was recording his part, I was baking cookies in the kitchen upstairs, and every time I took a break I came into the studio to bring him a new batch of cookies and something else amazing had been written.”
Miller is also featured in the song’s music video. The pair’s kiss at the end fed the rumor mill for weeks, especially since Grande broke up with her boyfriend Jai Brooks soon after the video was released.
Miller cleared up the rumors in a 2013 interview with MTV News. “That’s the homie. She’s got a boyfriend and everything. Obviously, that [kiss] made everyone talk. I didn’t even know that was going to happen and then we were shooting and the director was like, ‘This should happen,’ and I’m like, ‘Alright,’” he said.
Summer 2016: Miller and Grande make their relationship official.
Grande, Miller, and Victoria Monet were photographed hanging out at Disneyland in July 2016. One month later, Grande and Miller were spotted kissing on a sushi dinner date night. They got cozy at the VMAs that August, but Grande officially confirmed the pair were dating on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in September 2016.
June 2017: Miller performs alongside Grande at One Love Manchester.
After the terrorist attack that occurred on May 22, 2017 at the Manchester stop of Grande’s Dangerous Woman Tour, the singer organized a benefit concert to raise money for the families of the victims. Miller joined Grande on stage to perform “The Way.”
The performance itself is way too cute. Throughout the whole song, Miller’s got his eyes locked on his girl. He also canceled his concert appearances directly after the attack to spend time with Grande. If any fans weren’t convinced that the couple was the real deal by this point, One Love Manchester pushed away any doubts.
May 2018: Grande announces via Instagram Stories that she and Miller broke up.
Her initial message confirmed that they held an “unconditional love” for each other and that they would continue to support each other as friends. Grande shed light on the reason for their breakup on Twitter later that month, writing, “I have cared for him and tried to support his sobriety and prayed for his balance for years (and always will of course) but shaming/blaming women for a man’s inability to keep his sh*t together is a very major problem.”
Grande has been vocal about her love for the late rapper after his death in September 2018. Even if her upcoming album doesn’t reference him directly, it’s clear that Miller might be Grande’s own Eternal Sunshine.