Fortunately for us, Slate did a deep-dive into this pop star-meets-comedian ring mystery and answered a few of our burning questions. We’ll start with the initial TMZ report yesterday that Davidson purchased a $93,000 VVS1 clarity 3.03 carat diamond set in platinum last month. It took, purportedly, two weeks to complete and was commissioned by NYC jeweler Greg Yuna (aka Mr. Flawless).
i love u sm hi & thank u i love u bye
— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) June 12, 2018
This brought up a whole bevy of questions. First off, how did Davidson afford this ring? Slate cited the De Beers rule, a much-contested decree that says engagement rings should cost between a month and three months’ worth of salary. If this is the case, Davidson would have to be making $558,000 a year to make the ring affordable. Forbes estimates that cast members probably don’t make much more than $500,000 a year, and as Slate’s Rachelle Hampton reported, if Davidson, as a fourth-year regular, is toward the upper middle, he might be taking home around $300,000 for a 21-episode season. This would all mean that a $93,000 ring would be a bit of a stretch financially.
But many Ariana Grande fans (and there are many…and they are obsessive) have noticed that the singer has been possibly wearing this ring for days. She was spotted wearing the ring as early as June 2 during her performance at Wango Tango. This would mean that she and Davidson became engaged just three days after they made their relationship Instagram-official on May 30.
This all may seem crazy, but folks, we do live in strange times.