Of course, Ariana made headlines for a number of reasons last year: her divorce from Dalton Gomez, her role in the upcoming Wicked movie, and the timeline of her relationship with Wicked costar Ethan Slater.
On Dec. 29, Ariana shared the stencils for her Glinda tattoos along with a series of text about how 2023 was “one of the most transformative, most challenging, and yet happiest and special years” of her life — but that it came with “beautiful and yet polarized feelings.”
“I’ve never felt more at the mercy of and in acceptance of what life was screaming to teach me,” she continued. “I gave everything I could have possibly given of my heart and of myself to the projects I was fortunate enough to be a part of and learned so much from every brilliant, beautiful soul that I had the privilege of creating art with and crossing paths with this year.”
She then addressed rumors surrounding her year, writing, “I have never felt more pride or joy or love while simultaneously feeling so deeply misunderstood by people who don’t know me, who piece whispers together and make what they want out of me and their assumptions of my life.”
“I have never felt more tightly held or fiercely protected by those who love and understand me (friends, family, and fans alike). I feel safe, even amidst so many things I’d usually be afraid of. I am listening to and trusting myself, even when fear or trauma tells me not to. I am reacting to things that deserve my energy only and removing and protecting myself from things that do not,” Ariana continued.
Ariana concluded her post by sending her love to others who had been “misunderstood” and expressing her gratitude for the “unfathomably hard and inexplicably happy” moments of 2023.
