In a candid appearance on The Breakfast Club, the 31-year-old comedian Pete Davidson reflected on the whirlwind attention surrounding his short-lived engagement to Ariana Grande back in 2018. Naturally, the spotlight on Pete Davidson intensified during this period.
While the pairing was already tabloid gold, it was one offhand comment from Grande that sent Davidson’s private life — and a certain private detail — into the global spotlight.
When Comedy Took a Backseat to “BDE”
Davidson recalled how, in his early Saturday Night Live days, his dating life began overshadowing his work. “I brought a lot of pop culture into the show… unintentionally,” he admitted. “But I was embarrassed because no one talked about any work I was doing. They were just like, ‘Oh, that’s the f–k stick.’ And that hurt so much.”
It all began, he said, when he started dating someone “out of my league” — widely understood to be Grande. That’s when the internet latched onto the now-famous “big d–k energy” label. And of course, the link to Pete Davidson’s personal life was undeniable.
And then came the so-called confirmation: in June 2018, Grande cheekily replied to a fan asking “how long” a track named after Davidson was, quipping, “like 10 inches? … oh f–k… I mean… like a lil over a minute.”
The Toll of Being a Tabloid Fixture
While no one in his circle was outright cruel, Davidson says the constant public speculation — and the lack of focus on his craft — weighed heavily. “It just got to a point where my whole career was my personal life,” he explained. “Living through that is sort of traumatic. Not to be lame, but it’s traumatic to live in your own crap all the time.”
The attention also made dating difficult. “You don’t need the voices of thousands of others in your head,” he said, noting the pressures of navigating romance in the public eye when you’re Pete Davidson.
From Whirlwind Romance to Moving On
Davidson and Grande’s romance burned hot and fast: they confirmed they were dating in late May 2018, got engaged just weeks later, and called it quits by October of the same year. Grande has since moved on with her Wicked co-star Ethan Slater, while Davidson is expecting his first child with girlfriend Elsie Hewitt.
As for the “BDE” chatter? Davidson might never escape it completely — but he’s made it clear he’d rather the conversation focus on his comedy than his… measurements, as Pete Davidson frequently emphasizes.
