Ethan Slater shared a comment on his girlfriend Ariana Grande, after having left Lilly Jay last year, his ex-wife who he shares a baby with.
Talks around Slater and Grande’s relationship started in 2023 when the two met on the set of Wicked, the blockbuster musical. After Lilly Jay opened up about going through a divorce in the public eye and while her ex was dating, Slater now talks about his relationship with Grande.
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The relationship sparked controversy
Grande and Slater’s closeness sparked controversy online back in 2023 as the two had still been legally married at the time. Grande to now ex-husband Dalton Gomez, and Slater to now ex-wife Lilly Jay.
Lilly Jay had spoken about the split
In December of 2024, Lilly Jay broke her silence about the divorce with Ethan Slater, expressing how difficult it was to go through the split in the public eye, especially as Slater and Grande were doing a press tour for Wicked.
She admitted that there were “days when I can’t escape the promotion of a movie associated with the saddest days of my life.”
Slater finally spoke about the relationship
After months of staying silent about his relationship with Ariana Grande, Ethan Slater publicly praised the singer and actor.
This came after she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars for her role as Glinda the Good Witch in Wicked.
Slater shared his pride in Grande
Speaking to Us Weekly, Slater said, “I’m unbelievably proud of her. She worked so hard. She and [co-star] Cynthia [Erivo] worked so unbelievably hard to not only make this movie and be the best versions of Glinda and Elphaba, but to promote it. They’re incredible. I’m unendingly proud.”
He spoke about difficulties with being famous
Slater has previously opened up about the difficulties he faced with fame, having to learn to cope with his private life shifting into the public eye.
“Obviously, it was a really super big year. I think there was something that was really difficult about things in your private life being commented on and looked at by the public,” he told GQ Magazine last year.
Slater found the change hard to cope with
He added, “There were a lot of big changes in private lives that were really happening, so it’s really hard to see people who don’t know anything about what’s 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.”
His ex-wife also spoke about privacy
Writing in The Cut last year, Lilly Jay wrote about her struggles with having her divorce from Slater in the public eye.
“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,” she wrote.
Jay struggled with the divorce
She continued, “This, I tell myself, is nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to hide. Slowly but surely, I have come to believe that in the absence of the life I planned with my high-school sweetheart, a lifetime of sweetness is waiting for me and my child.”
Ethan and Lilly were high school sweethearts who got married in 2018. Jay admitted it was hard having to split from such a relationship while also taking care of their son.
Jay also shared that despite the split, she and Slater are determined to co-parent their son.