Pete Davidson Dropped Hints Months Ago About Crushing on Ariana Grande

Pete Davidson donned Ariana Grande's signature bunny mask during an 'SNL' sketch in late 2017 ... perhaps letting the world in on the secret he was already feeling the singer, even though he was in a different relationship at the time.

Pete rocked a suit and Ariana's mask for a masquerade ball sketch that aired in November. At the time, Pete was a year and a half into his relationship with Larry David's daughter, Cazzie.

He confirmed their split last month -- shortly after Ariana and Mac went public with their breakup -- and, in the short period of time since then, Ariana and Pete announced they were dating and got engaged.

It's still unclear when exactly Pete and Ariana started dating, but one thing's for sure ... they haven't been shy about flaunting their love since then ... and he wasn't shy with his dough when he popped the question.

As we first reported, PD dropped nearly $100k for Ariana's custom engagement ring.