Ariana Grande opens up on 'forcing' her divorced parents to reconcile after 18 years: 'I really did'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Ariana Grande is reflecting on her role in reuniting her divorced parents, Joan Grande and Edward Butera, after nearly two decades of estrangement.
During an episode of the 'WTF with Marc Maron' podcast on February 10, the 'Wicked' star, 31, revealed she “forced” her parents to communicate again, leading them to rebuild their friendship.
Inside Ariane Grande's parents' split
Speaking about her parents split, Grande shared, “They’re not together, but they’re best friends. It took 18 years and it took me forcing it. I really did.”
Ariana Grande’s parents split when she was a child and she finally took the action of reuniting them around her 24th birthday in 2017.
“I remember just kind of being at this pivotal point where I was just like, ‘You guys, I love you both so much. It’s been such a long time. Figure it the f**k out,’” she recalled.
“Like hello, it’s been 18 years. I’m 80 [years old]. Please get over it. And they did,” she shared.
Her heartfelt intervention paid off. “I can’t separate them. It’s the best thing in the whole world,” Grande said.
“I guess they just had some sort of beautiful conversation or realized that how much they love me is so much louder than whatever nonsense happened way back when. It really is beautiful,” she added.
Ariana Grande reflects on what would have helped her parents reconcile sooner
Ariana Grande also reflected on how therapy and modern approaches to healing might have helped her parents reconcile sooner.
“If only they had the tools that I feel like we have now, this generation, with therapy and embracing that, maybe it could have happened sooner, but it was just the perfect thing…. It makes me really happy,” she shared.
Grande’s parents often publicly show their support for their daughter.
In 2020, she brought them both to the Grammy Awards where they posed together on the red carpet as a happy family.
More recently, in November 2023, Joan and Ed stepped out together for the Los Angeles premiere of 'Wicked' in which Grande is credited as Ariana Grande-Butera.
Reflecting on her choice to include her full last name in the credits, Grande explained, “I just feel like this experience was such a homecoming for me."
"That was my name when I went to see the show when I was 10 years old, and it felt like a really lovely way of honoring that. It felt really full circle.”
Ariana Grande dedicates song to her parents
Ariana Grande has been candid about her evolving relationship with her father.
In a 2014 interview with Seventeen, she admitted they had been estranged though they later mended fences.
She even referenced their bond in her 2019 hit 'Thank U, Next,' singing about her parents’ impact on her love life.
During her 2020 Grammy performance of the song, she made a touching lyrical change, replacing “I’ll be thanking my dad/’Cause she grew from the drama” with “I’ll be thanking my dad/’Cause he’s really awesome,” symbolizing their renewed connection, according to People.
