Ethan Slater and Ariana Grande are proving that they really are still being supportive friends after their breakup. News broke on Monday that they amicably called off their relationship after careful consideration, with a source telling TMZ they were still on good terms.
Naturally, people are doing detective work, and the exes not only still follow each other on Instagram, but Slater showed her some love on a recent post.
On Sunday, Grande shared a gallery of photos from night one of her tour in Oakland. Among the 2.7M people who liked the post was the SpongeBob Musical star himself.
© InstagramIt’s unclear if Slater liked the post before or after the news broke. But the split isn’t recent; TMZ noted that it happened “several months ago.” There were rumors that they broke up in 2025 around November, so it’s possible fans were on to something, and they did split that long ago.
In a somewhat laughable statement, TMZ reported that her upcoming album was not inspired by the breakup and that the songs are not about Slater.
© GettyIn her recent single, “hate that i made you love me,” Grande sings about moving on, seeing through someone’s insecurities, and finding her way away from a relationship.
The title is enough to spark speculation, considering the drama that followed him and the fact that he had a baby under 1 years old when his marriage ended. Lines like “got good at goodbyes” and “I will find my way from you” are already being dissected.
© Backgrid/The Grosby GroupWith Grande on her Eternal Sunshine tour, it’ll be interesting to see how she reacts to certain songs and lyrics. She has already started playing with some. At her Oakland tour during “Thank U, Next,” she changed some of the lyrics and alluded to her parents and her divorce from Dalton Gomez in 2023.
In a video posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, Grande changed the lyrics “One day I’ll walk down the aisle holding hands with my mama / I’ll be thanking my dad, ‘cause she grew from the drama,” to “We all grew from the drama.”
And in the next line, “Only wanna do it once real bad, gonna make that s–t last,” Grande made a cheeky face to the crowd, skipping the word “once” and holding up two fingers in the air.
© Backgrid/The Grosby GroupGrande separated from Gomez in 2023 after meeting Slater while filming Wicked in 2022. At the time, Slater was still married to Lilly Jay, and they had a newborn.
Once they went public, there was speculation that there had been an overlap. Jay herself told Page Six her family had become “collateral damage” amid the media frenzy. “[Ariana’s] the story, really. Not a girl’s girl,” she added, which immediately went viral.
© The Grosby GroupThe clinical psychologist in perinatal mental health & child development even wrote an essay for The Cut. “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,” she wrote.
As for Gomez, he reportedly got a tax-free payment of $1,250,000 “instead of any spousal support payments being due.” Privacy was also at the center – he hasn’t spoken about their relationship. They agreed not to “release, disclosure or publication of any photograph (and related negatives), tape, film or like embodiments in all forms, whether now or hereafter created or other record or recording of any aspect of any activity in or about any home, office or other property owned.”
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