I think of space-time as relational.

Not as an “it”. You cannot have space or time or space-time without material objects.

Gravitation is not an “attractive force”.

There is an excellent theory for how mass/energy is coupled to 3D+1D = 4D space-time relations. It is called General Relativity. It is probably the most reliably and directly tested theory we have.

I do not rule out reinterpretations of GR that give more physical essence to space-time, but I would need strong empirical motivation to move in that direction. I have seen none so far.