Unpacking Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s “Non-Demi-Curious, Semi-Binary” Relationship

Remember the elementary school tune, "Make new friends, but keep the old; one is silver and the other's gold?" Well, over time it became replaced with "no new friends." Thankfully, some, like Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, have evolved and circled back to being open to having friends within every season of our lives.

Cynthia and Ariana's paths crossed for the first time when they were casted for the global smash, Wicked as the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba, and Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, respectively.

In both part one of the movie and part two, titled Wicked: For Good, the film captured a platonic love story between two women and how their bond changed their lives forever.

Over time, art seemingly imitated life between Cynthia and Ariana. Through filming Wicked, they've become incredibly close, as they showed during their press runs for the film. In many interviews, the two have exuded "can I get you two a room?" energy by affectionately touching one another and engaging in playful banter.

Due to their nature, many onlookers have inquired about Ariana and Cynthia's relationship. In November 2025, it was reported that Cynthia declared she and Ariana were in a "non-demi curious, semi-binary relationship."

So, what does it mean to be in a non-demi curious, semi-binary relationship? Here's what we've gathered.

A non-demi curious, semi-binary relationship is, for all intents and purposes, a made-up term. The term began circulating as Wicked and pop culture lovers continued questioning Cynthia and Ariana's closeness. According to an Instagram account, Top Voice, Cynthia addressed the chatter about their relationship and opted to "clear the air" about how they would best describe it as a non-demi curious, semi-binary relationship.

"It means we’re not actually a couple, but we’re curious about what that could mean — and everything,” the outlet quoted the actor.

Underneath the post, a community note from Instagram confirmed the report was false and Cynthia never used the term to describe her and Ariana's friendship. Though non-demi curious, semi-binary isn't a real term, the words within it mean separate things. According to Cosmopolitan, "Demisexuality is a sexual orientation used to describe someone who doesn’t feel attraction to someone unless they personally know them and have formed an emotional connection with them." So, non-demi implies there's no attraction between the people in the relationship, but they share an emotional connection.

"Curious," as the Instagram post implied, means someone isn't committed to being in this type of relationship, but likes the idea of it. Additionally, "semi-binary" implies it's not entirely monogamous, but not entirely open either.

While we're not big on labels, it seems easier to describe Cynthia and Ariana's relationship as a sisterhood. In fact, Cynthia and Ariana prioritized creating a sisterhood for one another that continued long after filming wrapped. In an interview with Today, the "No Place Like Home" songstress said she and Ariana talk multiple times a day and often end their days with texting one another "I love you."

"[We] agreed to come together and just be good for each other, to each other," Cynthia said of their connection. "I’ve already spoken to her today and already texted with her today. We are really building and cultivating a real relationship outside of work. But because of that, our work, I think, was fortified because of it."

According to an interview with The Straits Times, Ariana agreed that she and Cynthia have a lifelong sisterhood that happened, "From the very beginning. It’s been very special."

We love to see girls (platonically) loving girls!!