Ariana Grande’s two-year marriage to L.A. real estate agent Dalton Gomez is long behind her, as the former couple’s divorce was finalized in October 2023. But in eternal sunshine deluxe: brighter days ahead’s bonus track “Twilight Zone,” Grande appears to revisit that relationship. She marvels over the fact it even happened, questions how she ended up misunderstanding her ex so much, and then offers a true last message to him.

eternal sunshine deluxe: brighter days ahead by Ariana Grande

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As she puts it in the second verse, she is ready for it to be the end: “Pretend these songs aren’t about you (Songs aren’t about you) / Hope this might be the last one / ’Cause I’m not foolin’ anyone (I’m not foolin’).”

But it is Grande’s chorus that really captures her surreal feelings about her former partner. She sings, “And it’s not like I’m still not over you / It’s so strange, this I never do / Not that I miss you, I don’t / Sometimes, I just can’t believe / You happened / It’s not like I’d ever change a thing / ’Cause I’m right here where I’m meant to be / Not that I’d call you, I won’t / Sometimes, I just can’t believe / You happened.”

Grande and Gomez have both moved on since their breakup, with Grande now dating her Wicked co-star Ethan Slater. Gomez, meanwhile, has been romantically linked to Maika Monroe since February 2024.

Several months before March 2020, when news first broke that Grande and Gomez were dating, Grande had a Twilight Zone-themed Halloween party, adding an extra personal layer to the song’s title.

A source told Us Weekly in August 2020 that the former couple met before the COVID-19 pandemic but didn’t specify the exact date. “Ariana was looking for a home outside of Los Angeles to be her getaway house, and her team found Dalton to help,” the source said. “When she saw him, she immediately thought he was cute and very good-looking, and she asked her team to set up an in-person meeting with him. Ariana fell very hard for Dalton shortly after they met.”

Before eternal sunshine’s original edition came out, Grande spoke with Zach Sang about the care she put into writing songs about Gomez. “The loss and grief that you hear on some of the album, some of the heartbreak stuff, there was so much love and transparency,” she said. “That was something I really wanted to make sure was captured, wasn’t like a ‘fuck you’ at all and ever. Even track No. 2 [‘bye’], I tried to make sure it was kind and giving credit for trying and for the goodness that there was. So, that was a tricky balance for me, because I definitely had some sessions where I was writing more emotionally and reactively, but that’s also very human, so I didn’t want to erase all of it.”

The lyrics of “Twilight Zone” are an honest goodbye to that chapter of her life. Read them below, and listen to the track:

Verse 1
Did I dream the whole thing?
Was I just a nightmare?
Different dimensions
Stuck in the twilight zone
Is this a black and white scene?
If so then I’m in the gray one
Hope you win for best actor
’Cause I had you completely wrong

Pre-Chorus
Does she know you’re not who you say you are?
’Cause I might give her a call
Or was I just not me at all?

Chorus
And it’s not like I’m still not over you
It’s so strange, this I never do
Not that I miss you, I don’t
Sometimes, I just can't believe
You happened
It’s not like I’d ever change a thing
’Cause I’m right here where I’m meant to be
Not that I’d call you, I won’t
Sometimes, I just can’t believe
You happened

Verse 2
Were we just mistaken?
Disguised our intentions?
Our nest was a masquerade (Masquerade)
Why do I still protect you? (Mm)
Pretend these songs aren’t about you (Songs aren’t about you)
Hope this might be the last one
’Cause I’m not foolin’ anyone (I’m not foolin’)

Pre-Chorus
Does she know you’re not who you say you are?
’Cause I might give her a call
Or was I just not me at all?

Chorus
And it’s not like I’m still not over you
It’s so strange, this I never do
Not that I miss you, I don’t
Sometimes, I just can’t believe
You happened
(Not) It’s not (Like) like (I’d) I’d ever (Change) change a (A) thing (Thing)
’Cause I’m right here where I’m meant to be (Ah)
Not that I’d call you (You), I won’t
Sometimes, I just can’t believe (I can’t believe you)
You happened

Outro
(Not) It’s not (Like) like (I’m) I’m over you
It’s so (So) strange (I don’t miss you)
Not that I miss you, I don’t
Sometimes, I just can’t believe (Can’t believe)
(You) You happened