Tragic Details About Ariana Grande's Life

It seems like Ariana Grande is on top of the world. With her starring role as Glinda in "Glinda" and whispers of a possible Oscar nom, the pop icon has proven she's just as magical on screen as she is on stage. But behind the glitz and glam, her personal life tells a more complicated story. 

Throughout the years, the "Popular" hitmaker has been open about how close she is with her brother Frankie and their mother, Joan. However, the Grande family isn't picture-perfect. The singer's relationship with her father, Edward Butera, has seen some ups and downs throughout the years. Her parents separated when she was around 8 years old, though they were both active in her upbringing. But in her early 20s, she admitted in an interview with Seventeen that she and her father had a fallout that ended up in an estrangement, which lasted half a decade. Grande told the magazine it was "the toughest thing she's ever had to deal with." "Falling out of touch with my dad. (...) It took me so long to be okay with it," she said.

The first signs of a reconciliation between them started to show in 2018 — five years after their estrangement started: He attended her concerts, accompanied her to the Grammy Awards, and she even included his last name in the credits of the film "Wicked", honoring her roots. This journey to a reconciliation has apparently not been easy, though. "So much of me comes from my father," she told Seventeen, "and for so long, I didn't like that about myself. I had to accept that it's okay not to get along with somebody and still love them."

Ariana Grande has been candid about one of the most painful moments of her life: The death of her ex-boyfriend, rapper Mac Miller, in 2018. He was just 26 years old when he accidentally overdosed from drugs and alcohol. "If I'm completely honest, I don't remember those months of my life," she told Vogue, "because I was (a) so drunk and (b) so sad." The couple had dated for two years and had been friends for a year before they got together, to the point of even collaborating on music, such as on the song "The Way". 

The "Wicked" star has been open about how challenging it was to support Mac through his substance use issues, but the relationship had turned too toxic to continue (per E! Online). "I am not a babysitter or a mother and no woman should feel that they need to be," she wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) after their breakup, when Miller was still alive. Looking back after his death, though, she still harbored feelings for him. "By no means was what we had perfect, but, like, f***," she told Vogue. "He was the best person ever, and he didn't deserve the demons he had. I was the glue for such a long time, and I found myself becoming less and less sticky. The pieces just started to float away." Still, she has admitted feeling guilt about the "Senior Skip Day" rapper's death, as reported by Elle. "I'm so sorry i couldn't fix or take your pain away," she wrote in a tribute to him on Instagram. Grande seemingly referenced Miller in her album "Thank U, Next," keeping his memory alive through their shared love of music.

Ariana Grande made headlines around the world in 2017 for a tragic reason. During a concert for her "Dangerous Woman Tour," a suicide bomber attacked the Manchester Arena where she had just finished performing. The incident killed 22 people and injured over 1,000 — many of them children. The songstress has tried to help the victims' families in many ways, such as organizing the "One Love Manchester" charity concert where she and other famous artists such as Coldplay, Katy Perry, and Justin Bieber performed. 

Grande wasn't able to hold back her tears during the concert, especially while she sang the emotional song "Over the Rainbow." In 2019, her good friend and pop star Miley Cyrus spoke to Vogue about the night. "Holding her in my arms that night and feeling her shake from the loss of lives, literally feeling her heart pounding against mine — when you can let down the personas and cry with the rest of the world, it's unifying," she said. "It's a reminder that music can be our greatest healer." The $24.5 million that they raised with the concert still didn't feel enough for Grande. She shared her frustration with Vogue, saying that "at the end of the day, it didn't bring anyone back".  

Additionally, when tattooist Sam Barber offered to ink a bee on people for 50 pounds to donate to victims and their families, Grande got one for herself to honor the victims. She also addressed them in her song "Get Well Soon", which includes a period of silence that starts at 5:22 for May 22, the day of the attack.

Behind Ariana Grande's lavish lifestyle, she's had a mental health journey that has been a life-long challenge. The "Yes, And?" hitmaker has shared her experiences with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), which manifested in compulsions in her routine, among them being clean. "My hands would be cracking cause I would use so much hand sanitizer," she told "Podcrushed," and while she has learned to handle the disorder, it still requires effort on her part. OCD, after all, is classified as an anxiety disorder,and the singer admitted her anxiety worsened after the Manchester bombing. "I've always had anxiety, but it had never been physical before," Grande told Elle. These symptoms were "wild dizzy spells, this feeling like I couldn't breathe." "I would be in a good mood, fine and happy, and they would hit me out of nowhere," she explained. 

But OCD isn't the only disorder she experiences when it comes to her mental health. As reported by Prevention, in 2019, she shared her brain scans on Instagram, which showed signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). "Hilarious and terrifying," she captioned it. "Not a joke". Even three years after the attack, her manager Scooter Braun confirmed that she still experienced PTSD (via the Daily Mail). 

Depression is another side of herself that she has been candid about with her fans. Per CNN, she shared a quote by Jim Carrey on Instagram that partially read, "Depression is your body saying, 'I don't want to be this character anymore. I don't want to hold up this avatar that you've created in the world. It's too much for me.'" This is why Grande gave a huge gift to her fans: $1 million in free therapy. "The work is so hard but we are capable and worth it," she wrote on Instagram (via Billboard).

Ariana Grande's physical health has required as much attention from her as her mental health. As a singer, her vocal fitness is of utmost importance, but in 2013, she suffered from a vocal cord hemorrhage. Dr. Jennifer Long from the UCLA Medical Center told ABC News that this is "a blood vessel within the vocal cord ruptures, causing a bruise in the delicate tissue used to produce voice. According to the doctor, inappropriately treating a hemorrhage of this nature could permanently change a person's voice quality. Grande was not only forced to cancel several media appearances in that time span, but she had to adopt specific vocal techniques, such as adjusting her pitch depending on her singing schedule. 

Years later, in 2024, this is something she keeps doing for her vocal health, and people around the world noticed the changes. In an interview she had with "Podcrushed," she switched from a high to a lower tone seemingly involuntarily, and people did not hold back from tweeting about it. "This voice change is sending me regular Ariana was coming out for a second," one user wrote on X (via CNN). 

Grande took the time to explain the reason behind this on TikTok: "Habit (speaking like this for two years) and also vocal health :) I intentionally change my vocal placement (high / low) often depending on how much singing i'm doing i've always done this BYE." Some other fans defended her vocal changes. "Bet you she does this voice change to help ease into the operatic resonance she needs to use for when she sings Glinda s***," one wrote.

Coping with grief is something Ariana Grande had to learn to do even before the death of her ex-boyfriend, Mac Miller. Her grandfather, Frank, died in 2014 at the age of 90 after a prolonged bout with cancer. The then-21-year-old called it "the hardest thing imaginable" on X next to pictures of him (via E! News). "Thank you for your continuous love & light over the past few weeks," she added. "We did lose my favorite person to ever exist yesterday, my grandpa. If only y'all knew how amazing he was ... my [heart] hurts so much. It's beyond broken but I got to hold his hand and watch him find his peace.

During this challenging period, Ariana was also concerned about her brother, Frankie, who was a contestant on the reality show "Big Brother" at the time. Honoring their grandfather's wishes, the family initially chose not to inform Frankie of his passing to allow him to continue his participation without immediate distress. When Frankie eventually received the news, it was a poignant moment for the family. "Watching @frankiejgrande talk abt grandps after reading our letter on the live feed," Grande tweeted (via ABC News). "Sobbing / laughing hysterically. love u frankie so much."

Later that year, the "Thank U, Next" hitmaker performed at the "Stand Up to Cancer" benefit, where she dedicated the ballad "My Everything" to her grandfather. Earlier that day, she wrote on X, "Tonight I'm singing for grandps!" After the show, she tweeted that she "sobbed [her] eyes out" after her performance (via Cosmopolitan).

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.