Ariana Grande erases her relationship memories in heart-wrenching ‘We Can’t Be Friends’ music video
The video is a bit of a tear-jerker. (Ariana Grande/YouTube)
Ariana Grande has released her second single, ‘We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)’, from her new album Eternal Sunshine — and the music video is heart-wrenching.
The singer recently released her chart-topping album,and her latest music video to come from the album pays tribute to the movie which inspired it: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
The video shows Grande taking on the character Peaches, who finds herself at the “Brighter Days Inc” doctor’s office to undergo a procedure to erase her painful memories of an ex. The video harks back to the film, which sees Jim Carrey’s Joel and Kate Winslet’s Clementine having similar treatment.
Behind the short film is ‘Yes, And?’ director Christian Breslaur, while Dahmer actor Evan Peters appears alongside the singer as her ex. Her character moves through her memories of her ex, triggered by a box of his things.
The video sees Petes’ character winning the singer’s character a bear at the arcade, recalling an argument they had in the middle of the night, making snow angels together, holding hands in bed, and sharing a very 16 Candles moment with a kiss over a birthday cake; all of which get deleted from her memory.
Then, in perhaps the most heartbreaking scene of the music video, Peaches wakes up crying and clutching at her necklace. She bargains with the medical team to “keep this one please”, and they re-attribute Peters giving her the jewellery to a collar for her dog.
In the end, her character seems relieved that her painful memories are no longer there hugging the doctors before her box of things is incinerated. Later, Grande’s character seems to have moved on with someone else, as did Peters’, when they walk past with no recollection of each other.
Grande said in an Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe that the song is open to interpretation, but sums up “the album in a video”. “I think it can be applied to any kind of relationship, really, especially when you see the video. I think you’ll understand the importance of it,” she said.
Of course, Grande divorced her ex-husband Dalton Gomez in 2023 after two years together. The pair married in a “tiny and intimate” at-home wedding in 2021.
The singer is now rumoured to be dating her Wicked co-star Ethan Slater, with the allegations coming to a head when Slater’s ex-wife Lilly Jay allegedly confirmed the relationship to Page Six, and didn’t appear to be in support of Grande. “My family is just collateral damage,” she told the outlet.
While neither Grande nor Slater has commented on said rumours, the pair have been snapped whilst out together on numerous occasions. The singer has appeared to tackle the discourse head-on via her new album, especially with her somewhat controversial track ‘The Boy Is Mine‘, a re-imagined version of Brandy and Monica’s queer anthem.
