Ariana Grande has overtaken Selena Gomez to become the most-followed woman on Instagram.

As of press time, Grande holds the title with 146.3m (146, 335, 305) followers, edging ahead of her fellow pop star Gomez, who has 146.2m (146, 288, 283).

However, both women are beaten by footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, who took the title as the most-followed person on Instagram back in October 2018 with 155.9m (155, 910, 661) followers.

Grande’s latest social media triumph follows a number of achievements this year. Her single “7 Rings” has spent four weeks at number one so far since its release in January 2019, with “Break Up With Your Girlfriend” and “Thank U, Next” trailing it at number two and three respectively.

As a result, Grande made history as the first artist since The Beatles in 1964 to hold the top three slots on Billboard’s Hot 100 at the same time.

The 25-year-old also communicates with her army of fans on social media regularly, posting to both Twitter and Instagram multiple times a day.

In comparison, Gomez has only recently returned to social media after announcing a hiatus in September 2018.

At the time, the 26-year-old stated: “As much as I am grateful for the voice that social media gives each of us, I am equally grateful to be able to step back and live my life present to the moment I have been given.”

Gomez did not post anything else for the rest of the year, until she returned in January to wish her fans a happy new year and thank them for their support.

”Last year was definitely a year of self-reflection, challenges and growth,” she wrote on Instagram.

“It’s always those challenges which show you who you are and what you are capable of overcoming.

”Trust me, it’s not easy, but I am proud of the person I am becoming and look forward to the year ahead. Love you all.”

It’s unlikely that Gomez will be concerned by the news that Grande has overtaken her number as the most followed woman in the world on Instagram. In 2018, the singer ranked ahead of Ronaldo as Instagram’s most followed user but reminded her fans that “numbers don’t matter”.

“None of this matters. I don’t care how many followers I have,” she said.

“I don’t. It’s insane so many people are obsessed. Like, chill out.”