Despite the incredibly successful year Ariana Grande has been having, it’s also been a hard one.
Last September, her ex-boyfriend, rapper Mac Miller, suddenly passed away, and she hasn’t been shy about grieving his loss with her fans.
Miller and Grande were friends for four years before they started dating.
It was actually a tweet that began their road to romance.
How’s that for modern love?
Miller responded to a tweet she posted and from there, a friendship began.
They collaborated on a cover of ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside.’
Under Mac Miller’s other pseudonym Larry Lovestein, the pair did a touching and sweet cover of the Christmas classic. This was their first time teaming up for a track but not the last.
They collaborated on several songs, including Ariana’s hit “The Way.”
The two even locked lips in the music video, despite the fact that Grande had a boyfriend at the time.
Oops.
Even after that , they still considered themselves “just friends.”
But that didn’t stop the two from gushing about each other.
“She’s like the greatest person in the world,” Miller once said about Ari. “She’s like an angel, she’s very nice, she’s a sweet girl.”
During an interview with Power 106 radio station, Ariana also gushed , calling Miller a “great, great, great guy.”
In August 2016, they finally took their relationship public.
They were all smiles as they attended the 2016 MTV VMA Awards together.
Later, Ariana visited The Ellen DeGeneres Show and said that they were together and happy.
They even made it “Instagram official.”
Ariana, clearly smitten, shared this sweet black-and-white photo of the two, with the caption: “baabyyy.”
Aww.
Sadly, the couple later split two years later in May 2018.
According to friends close to the rapper , they ended due to Miller’s struggles with substance abuse.
Soon after, Ariana took to Instagram to break her silence.
“Unconditional love is not selfish. It is wanting the best for that person even if at the moment, it’s not you.”
Ariana shared this adorable photo of her and Mac, with the caption, “Hi, this is one of my best friends in the whole world and favorite people on the planet Malcom McCormack. I respect and adore him endlessly and am grateful to have him in my life in any form.”
Their breakup caused some controversy, with some people blaming Ariana.
A lot of fans echoed this sentiment, feeling that Mac’s downturn in mental health was to be blamed on Ariana allegedly “dumping him for another dude.”
Obviously, Ariana set the record straight.
In a reply to the tweet, Ariana shared a note, emphasizing that she was not Mac’s babysitter or mother. She emphasized that she would always support and encourage Mac’s sobriety, but ultimately it was out of her control.
Tragedy struck when Miller passed away at just 26.
According to a toxicology report released by the L.A. County Coroners Office, Miller’s passing was caused by an accidental overdose.
Grande was understandably heartbroken.
Recently, she returned to Miller’s hometown of Pittsburgh for the first time — and broke down during her show there.
It hasn’t been easy, but she’s there for one of the stops on her “Sweetener” tour.
On Instagram stories, she has been sharing photos of the sky, along with a heart.
Some believe it’s in reference to Miller now being “an angel.”
Yep, we’re definitely crying.
Get the tissues ready because this isn’t even all of it.
Grande also paid tribute to her late ex-boyfriend during her concert.
First, by having a seat reserved for him.
Then by playing a Mac Miller playlist as the before-concert music.
Again, here come the waterworks.
While playing “Thank You Next,” she had some tears left to cry.
Once she reached the part where she mentions Mac, she could barely sing as she broke down crying.
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Mac’s legal name was Malcom McCormack.
The lyric in “thank u, next” that references Mac that Ariana couldn’t sing goes, “I wish I could say thank you to Malcolm, ’cause he was an angel.”
She broke down again while singing “Raindrops.”
When the song was first released, many believed that it was written about Mac and their relationship.
Fans rallied their support for the singer, as some can be heard yelling, “You can do it, Ari!”
“Raindrops” is a heartbreaking song.
It’s a short song, but the lyrics in their entirety are, “When raindrops fell down from the sky, the day you left me an angel cried. Oh, she cried, an angel cried, she cried.”
She was even engaged at the time it was released.
Soon after Miller’s passing, Grande called it quits with her fiancé, SNL star, Pete Davidson.
Fans speculated that she needed time to be alone and heal.
Ariana posted two tributes to Mac on her Instagram.
The first was this sweet black and white shot, with no caption. The second was a video of her and Mac joking and laughing with each other. She captioned the video , “I adored you from the day i met you when i was nineteen and i always will. i can’t believe you aren’t here anymore. i really can’t wrap my head around it. we talked about this. so many times.”
“I’m so mad, i’m so sad i don’t know what to do.”
“You were my dearest friend. for so long. above anything else. i’m so sorry i couldn’t fix or take your pain away. i really wanted to. the kindest, sweetest soul with demons he never deserved. i hope you’re okay now. rest.”
No one wants to see their queen sad.
We predict the outpour of love will only continue to grow, as it should.
After finishing up the last few stops on her “Sweetener” tour, she deserves a much-deserved break.
We’re sending so much love her way.
The tribute she gave the late Mac Miller was so beautiful and we know he’s proud.
We love you, Ari!