Cynthia Erivo gushes over ‘Wicked’ co-star Ariana Grande friendship

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande still exchange text messages nearly every day.

The 39-year-old actress and Ariana starred together in the money-spinning Wicked film franchise, and Cynthia has revealed that they remain close friends, despite speculation to the contrary.

The London-born star, who played Elphaba in the Wicked movies, told Variety, "I think that people didn’t really believe that we were actually friends. But that’s also because people don’t know me very well. If I’m a friend, then I’m a friend. If I’m not, then I’m not."

She insisted that the public's perception of their friendship doesn't chime with the reality.

Cynthia, who also starred in the Wicked films alongside Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Michelle Yeoh, and Jeff Goldblum, said: "It’s very interesting, watching what people’s perception is versus what the reality actually is.”

"Lots of psychologists seated at home deciding who we were, what we were going through, what we were doing and why,” she added.

Cynthia previously revealed that she "made a pact" with Ariana before shooting the Wicked movies.

The actress explained that they "committed to protecting and caring for each other" through their Wicked experience.

In her book, Simply More: A Book for Anyone Who Has Been Told They’re Too Much, Cynthia explained, "Before Wicked really started rolling, Ariana and I made a pact with each other.”

"We committed to protecting and caring for each other through this process. We hear often how female co-stars —¬ or really, any co-stars —¬ can sometimes let their egos get in the way until they battle each other, destroying the creative process for everyone involved. We were determined to do the opposite,” it further mentioned of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s friendship.