Ariana Grande addresses Cynthia Erivo secret marriage rumours

Ariana Grande has addressed rumours that she is secretly married to her Wicked co-star, Cynthia Erivo.

The 31-year-old American star formed an unbreakable bond with 38-year-old British actress Erivo while they promoted their Oscar-nominated musical film - drawing attention as they hugged and cried their way around global premieres.

And the Thank U, Next star has acknowledged that fans have questioned just how close they now are, quipping to The Hollywood Reporter, "People think we're secretly married."

Addressing explicit fan fiction that has been created depicting Grande and Erivo as their Wicked characters in a romantic relationship, she added, "I wish I could unsee some things. I mean, wow, I had a feeling, but I didn't know it would be on this scale or this graphic."

The singer and actress, who has slammed speculation about her love life through her music in the past, went on to explain she's less likely to address rumours these days, even if they annoy her.

She said, "It'll never be unpainful. But also, I walk with the awareness that I'm an artist and this is a path that I've chosen, and so I just try to protect myself so that I never start to resent the art."

Grande's fresh comments come weeks after she furiously denied she had broken up a marriage in pursuit of love while filming Wicked.

While fans have been merrily speculating the singer is in a marriage with Erivo, she is in fact dating co-star Ethan Slater, who plays Boq in the film.

Reports suggested he left his wife and baby for Grande, and that their romance began soon after she ended her own marriage to real estate broker Dalton Gomez.

Slamming the reports Slater ditched his family for her, the Glinda Upland actress told Vanity Fair last year, "There couldn't be a less accurate depiction of a human being."