This weekend was full of drama surrounding Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson’s fresh breakup.

Davidson jokingly proposed to musical guest Maggie Rogers in a preview for a new episode of Saturday Night Live and Grande responded in now-deleted tweets, saying, “for somebody who claims to hate relevancy [you] sure love clinging to it huh.”

She followed that tweet up with a now-iconic life motto: “thank u, next.”

Split turns nasty. Ariana Grande slams Pete Davidson on Twitter for using their failed relationship to boost his career. The tweets have since been deleted, but here they are. pic.twitter.com/XogVoOMLuK

— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) November 2, 2018

The phrase caught on, and on Saturday night Grande dropped an unannounced single, bearing the tweeted phrase as its title, to the world’s surprise and excitement.

“Thank u, next” is catchy and heartfelt. More importantly, it doesn’t sink to the level of pettiness and sarcasm Davidson has displayed in recent comments about the matter. Instead, Grande’s song is an ode to forgiveness and self-love.

Grande starts the song by briefly mentioning her last relationships with celebrities Big Sean, Ricky Alvarez, Mac Miller, and Pete Davidson. She sings, “Even almost got married / And for Pete, I’m so thankful.” Grande goes on to explain, “I’ve loved and I’ve lost / But that’s not what I see / So, look what I got / Look what you taught me.”

The artist’s single isn’t intended to tear down Davidson or wallow in self-pity, it’s about learning from past relationships and growing as a result. The chorus repeats the line, “I’m so f—ing grateful for my ex” to fully emphasize this point.

It doesn’t place the blame on Davidson, or any of Grande’s past boyfriends, for their relationships ending. She takes a mature approach to dating and shows not every breakup needs to be rife with drama.

[Ariana] takes a mature approach to dating and shows not every breakup needs to be rife with drama.

Not only does Grande tell us she’s grown from each of her relationships, but she also celebrates how she’s prioritizing herself now. Later in the song, the artist confesses, “Plus, I met someone else / We havin’ better discussions […] her name is Ari / And I’m so good with that”.

These lines communicate a universal message: you aren’t your relationships. You can learn from other people and find love but, at the end of the day, you should be your own top priority. You’ll always have a relationship with yourself, as Grande seeks to remind us.

These lines communicate a universal message: you aren’t your relationships.

Some may raise an issue with the fact that Grande released her single half an hour before Saturday Night Live aired this weekend, but I think this was her strategy to take control of her breakup’s narrative. TMZ reported Davidson wrote a skit for the show satirizing his ended engagement with Grande, which was later cut. Whether or not this is true, he’s been continuously loose-lipped about their relationship in the past.

I can see how Grande would want to share her thoughts before Davidson had the chance to say something potentially inflammatory about her on live television.

The singer even informed fans over Twitter that her exes heard “thank u, next” before it was released, proving the single wasn’t recorded as a jab at her past boyfriends.

What Grande’s song has shown us is that she’s ready to move on.

The singer’s chosen not to be defined by her relationships, but instead by growth. She leaves for her Sweetener Tour in March, has teased an upcoming album on the heels of her May 2018 release, Sweetener, and continues to appear on talk shows and attend other engagements.

Ariana Grande is moving forward, and she doesn’t have time to be sad about her past. In “thank u, next,” she lets us know this loud and clear: “I’ve got so much love / Got so much patience / I’ve learned from the pain / I turned out amazing.”

Whether you’re fresh out of a breakup and looking for something to empower you, want to be inspired by self-love, or simply want a new song to play on repeat, “thank u, next” is guaranteed to satisfy you.