5 Body Language Signs that Ariana and Pete Might Have Been Growing Apart Since the VMAs
Now that Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson have called off their engagement, romance is over, and love is dead, body language expert Blanca Cobb says their behavior several months ago hinted at the fate of their relationship: Although the duo appeared to have great chemistry tracing back to the first time they met on SNL, after five months of dating and getting engaged in June, the couple could have been on different pages since the MTV Video Music awards on August 20, 2018. Here's how their body language gave them away right before everyone's eyes:
Pete kissed Ariana with just one arm around her.
"She looks more into it," Cobb says, referring to the way Ariana's body is angled directly toward her partner with her left arm behind his neck, pulling him closer.
Meanwhile, Pete lets his right arm hang along his side, making little effort to draw Ariana closer. And though he drapes his left arm around her, he appears to be gracing the fabric of her dress rather than touching her actual body. "I'd expect him to be more engaged in the kiss," Cobb says-and she can't help but notice that neither Ariana or Pete are actually puckering: They're smiling. "A smile is one of the easiest expressions to fake," she says.
Pete lifts his left heel.
Cobb points out that Pete's left heel is raised: "It's like a runner's sprint to get out of there," she says, suggesting he may be trying to escape Ariana's embrace. "Your feet take you where you want to go and your eyes follow, which could be why he's not looking at her."
Pete turns away from Ariana's kiss.
Above, Pete mobilizes his left arm-but look at the difference between his left hand and Ariana's right: Pete's hand lingers in the air rather than making physical contact, while Ariana grips Pete with effort and intension, Cobb notes. "We don't know what his hand is doing, if it's grabbing her or pushing her away," she says. And if he planning to touch his partner? "What's the delay?" Cobb wonders, also noting that Pete is looking off rather than into Ariana's eyes. "You look where you want to go."
Pete leans out.
Here, Pete may be looking into Ariana's eyes, but his hips suggest his interest lies elsewhere: Unlike Ariana, whose hips face her partner straight on, Pete's hips are angled toward the camera. What's more, Pete's knuckles are lifted, suggesting that even his hand lacks commitment in the effort to grace Ariana's butt. "You'd typically expect the palm to make contact," Cobb says.
Ariana sits on her hand.
Based on the series of photos above, it might look like Ariana is all there and Pete's having second thoughts. In this instance, though, it's Ariana's body language that sounds the alarms: "She has her hand between her legs, covering her pleasure zone," Cobb says, noting this is a vulnerable area she's effectively blocking from Pete. "You do this when you're uncomfortable."
Despite Ariana's polite smile-it's not a genuine one, Cobb says, since the corners of her eyes aren't wrinkled and she doesn't show her upper teeth-her upper body also suggests something is making her uneasy: See the way she leans back and reaches up to play with her hair? It's not a good sign, Cobb says.
Because body language reflects the way people feel in the moment, the series above doesn't necessarily guarantee this couple was doomed since summertime or for its entirety. After all, "it's possible Pete was uncomfortable with PDA-you can’t discount that," Cobb says of his distant behavior. That said, "body language is tough to fake-you can fake the happiness but you can't fake emotion," Cobb says. "And love can be complicated."
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