Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater fell for each other on the set of Wicked, but their romance couldn’t stand the test of time. The former couple reportedly called it quits sometime earlier this year, and now that Ariana has embarked on her world tour, fans are wondering what led to her and Ethan’s breakup.
As fans of Ari already know, her relationship with the Broadway actor sparked controversy when it was revealed in July 2023, the same month that Ethan filed for divorce from his ex-wife, Lilly Jay. The co-parents were high school sweethearts, and they share a child together. As for Ariana, the “7 Rings” pop singer had separated from her ex-husband, Dalton Gomez, earlier that year.
Here’s what we know so far about Ethan and Ariana’s split.
When Did Ariana Grande & Ethan Slater Start Dating?
Ariana and Ethan kept most of the details of their relationship away from the public eye, but news of their romance surfaced in July 2023. They had met in December 2022 when they began filming Wicked.
Why Did Ariana Grande & Ethan Slater Break Up?
Neither Ariana nor Ethan has publicly addressed their breakup. However, according to People, their split was “amicable” and the exes “gave lots of time and careful consideration and decided to go their separate ways.”
“They are still friends and very supportive of one another,” a source told the outlet in June 2026. “They have been quietly broken up for several months.”
Ethan subtly showed his support for his former girlfriend by “liking” one of her Instagram posts amid her Eternal Sunshine Tour.
Why Did Ariana Grande Divorce Her Ex-Husband?
Ariana and Dalton split after two years of marriage due to irreconcilable differences. Some outlets reported that the couple had been struggling with long-distance after the Nickelodeon alum went to England to start shooting Wicked.
Why Did Ethan Slater Divorce His Ex-Wife?
Ethan and his ex-wife, Lilly, never cited the exact reason for their divorce, but she got candid about the toll their split took on her as a new mom in a 2024 essay published via The Cut.
“I really never thought I would get divorced,” Lilly, a licensed clinical psychologist, admitted in the essay. “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 continued that she was “consumed by the magic and mundanity of new motherhood,” so she “didn’t understand the growing distance between” her and Ethan.
“As a perinatal psychologist, I knew all the statistics — how vulnerable a marriage is in the postpartum period, how vital community connection is in preventing depression and anxiety, how new parenthood impacts a whole family,” she explained. “But I confidently moved to another country with my 2-month-old baby and my husband to support his career.”
Despite the heartbreak of their divorce, Lilly emphasized that she and Ethan saw eye to eye on one thing: their son.
“While our partnership has changed, our parenthood has not,” she concluded. “Both of us fiercely love our son 100 percent of the time, regardless of how our parenting time is divided.”
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