Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater's defiant response to sad baby mum scandal
Wicked co-stars Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater met and later fell in love on the set of the hit movie - but they came under fire at the start of their relationship
Ariana Grande and her boyfriend Ethan Slater haven't been shy about sharing their love in recent months. The couple have initially kept their romance under wraps - but with their film Wicked dominating the awards season, they have stepped further into the spotlight.
Their decision to keep their personal life on the down-low is likely down to the controversy concerning the start of their relationship. Ariana, 31, and Ethan, 32, met on the set of the blockbuster movie in 2022 - and both were married to other people at the time.
Singer Ariana had tied the knot with real estate agent Dalton Gomez in May 2021, but in July 2023, a source confirmed that they had separated earlier in the year, and the couple filed for divorce in September, citing "irreconcilable differences".
Ariana Grande with her ex-husband, Dalton Gomez
Ethan, meanwhile, married his childhood sweetheart, clinical psychologist Lilly Jay, in 2018 and they welcomed a child together, a baby boy, in 2022. He filed for divorce from Lilly in July, 2023, just one month shy of their son's first birthday, after news of his romance with Ariana broke.
Neither Ariana nor Ethan have confirmed their relationship timeline but sources at the time said romance only blossomed after both separated from their spouses. "Ariana and Dalton separated in January," one source told People. "She and Ethan recently began dating, and he is separated from his wife."
Meanwhile, and another source told Us Weekly, "Ariana and Ethan have only recently begun seeing each other, but they have a lot of fun together and are enjoying each other's company."
However, Ethan's estranged wife Lilly spoke to Page Six shortly after her husband filed for divorce, and claimed: "[Ariana's] the story really. Not a girl's girl." She added: "My family is just collateral damage. The story is her and Dalton."
Ethan and Lilly were married in 2018 and share a child together (
Image:
Getty Images)
In the months that followed, Ariana and Ethan stepped out for a number of low-key dates - and fans went into overdrive in January 2024 with speculation that Ariana's new song Yes, And? was in response to negative comments about their relationship. "Your business is yours and mine is mine. Why do you care so much whose d**k I ride?" she sang.
Another song, Imperfect for You, is also thought to be about Ethan. "She's such an amazing performer, and I think everyone knows how good she is [as] a recording artist and all that ā but I'm just really blown away by the songwriting," he said months later about the single. "I love that song."
In June 2024, Ariana's brother Frankie spoke about Ethan for the first time, telling TooFab: "I love him, he's a very sweet guy. I've been a fan of him ever since seeing him in SpongeBob [the musical]. And I got to interview him when I was doing the SpongeBob SquarePants podcast. And the Broadway community is a tight-knit family."
Then in September that same year, Ariana finally broke her silence. "It definitely doesn't get any easier, seeing some of the negativity that was birthed by disreputable tabloids," she told Vanity Fair.
Ariana and Ethan have become more tactile in public recently (
Image:
Variety via Getty Images)
"Of course, I went through a lot of life changes during the filming of this movie. A lot of people that were working on it did. We were away for two years.
"The most disappointing part was to see so many people believe the worst version of it," she noted. "That was definitely a tough ride."
Just one month after Ariana's comments, Ethan also discussed their relationship for the first time publicly. "Ari's Ari, and she's amazing," he told GQ. "She's a comedian who's also got this crazy voice that can do anything. My unbiased opinion is that she's one of the best comedians that's been in a movie in a long time. She's a genius."
Elsewhere in the interview, he spoke about what it was like to be in the spotlight for his relationship. "Obviously, it was a really super big year, and I think there was something that was really difficult about things in your private life being commented on and looked at by the public.
"There were a lot of big changes in private lives that were really happening, so it's really hard to see people who donāt know anything about whatās happening commenting on it and speculating, and then getting things wrong about the people you love. So just to address that part of it, that feels really hard."
The couple's romance seems to be going from strength to strength (
Image:
Getty Images for National Board of Review)
The star continued: "But, of course, it was an amazing year and a really beautiful thing, and I'm just really excited. I'm just really, really proud of Ari and the work she's done on this. She's poured herself into it. I'm really proud that I got to be there for that part of it, and I'm really excited to be there for this next step of it when the world gets to see the amazing thing that she did."
The controversy that had initially surrounded their romance was put back into the forefront in December 2024 thanks to an essay in The Cut written by Ethan's ex-wife Lilly.
"No one gets married thinking they'll get divorced, in the same way we don't board a plane expecting to crash. But I really never thought I would get divorced. Especially not just after giving birth to my first child and especially not in the shadow of my husband's new relationship with a celebrity," Lilly wrote.
"In the countless hours I spend rocking my son to sleep, pushing his stroller, marveling at his sweaty little hands grasping a crayon, I work diligently on my private project of accepting the sudden public downfall of my marriage. This, I tell myself, is nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to hide."
She added: "While our partnership has changed, our parenthood has not. Both of us fiercely love our son 100 percent of the time, regardless of how our parenting time is divided. As for me, days with my son are sunny. Days when I can't escape the promotion of a movie associated with the saddest days of my life are darker."
One of the first photos of Ariana and Ethan together (
Image:
Instagram/ @michelleyeoh_official)
Ariana and Ethan, meanwhile, seem to be going from strength to strength. At the end of January 2025, Ethan - who stars as Boq Woodsman in the movie - shared a very rare photo of his girlfriend after learning that Wicked had earned ten Oscar nominations, including Best Supporting Actress for Ariana.
They have also been pictured on numerous occasions in recent weeks as part of awards season. Most recently, the couple - along with the cast of Wicked - appeared at the SAG Awards.
Fans did spot an odd moment when Ariana and Ethan were snapped shaking hands before posing for a few photos, with one joking that they were starting to look like "just coworkers".
But later in the night, they looked far more loved-up as they held hands while guiding each other through the packed crowd.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/GettyImages-2202909729-soc-fde7aa82a0674978a2ae30afd16d09ac.jpg)
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/GettyImages-2202909729-soc-fde7aa82a0674978a2ae30afd16d09ac.jpg&description=Kelly Ripaās Flawlessly Blurred Complexion Included a $15 Drugstore Skin Tint Kelly Ripa used LāOrĆ©al Paris products for her Oscars 2025 makeup. Shop the $15 skin tint that shoppers say blurs imperfections and plumps skin at Amazon. %23oscars)
