Ethan Slater's relationship timeline has taken another dramatic turn after reports claimed the Broadway actor and Ariana Grande quietly ended their romance after nearly three years together. Their relationship, which began during the making of Wicked, was never just another celebrity pairing.
People reported that Slater and Grande split several months ago, with a source describing the separation as amicable. The reported breakup has pushed fans back to the start of a romance that first drew attention because both stars had recently left their marriages.
Before Ariana Grande
Before the 'Thank U, Next' singer, Slater was married to Dr Lilly Jay, his high school sweetheart. The two had known each other long before SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical made him a Tony-nominated name, and they welcomed their son in 2022.
Their marriage became public conversation in July 2023, when reports emerged that Slater had filed for divorce from Jay. Around the same time, he was linked to Grande, who had also separated from Dalton Gomez.
The timing made the story explode. Grande was playing Glinda, Slater was playing Boq, and the idea of a Wicked set romance instantly became irresistible to fans, gossip pages, and critics looking for clues.
The Essay That Changed the Story
Jay later gave the story its most painful detail in an essay for The Cut. She wrote, 'No one gets married thinking they'll get divorced', adding that she never imagined it would happen 'just after giving birth' and 'in the shadow' of her husband's new relationship with a celebrity.
That essay changed the tone around the romance. It reminded readers that behind the internet jokes, blind items, and red-carpet speculation was a woman processing heartbreak while raising a child.
@cosmopolitan #LillyJay is speaking out about her divorce from the #Wicked star. #EthanSlater
♬ snowfall - Øneheart & reidenshi
Slater and Grande never turned the relationship into a loud public spectacle. Instead, they appeared to move carefully, showing support at select events while avoiding the kind of overexposure that could have fed the backlash even more.
Still, the scrutiny followed them. Reports at the time claimed the couple were serious, while sources close to the situation repeatedly framed the romance as real rather than a brief on-set fling.
Grande later appeared to defend Slater when asked about the public reaction around their relationship. She said, 'No one on this earth tries harder or spreads themselves thinner to be there for the people that he loves and cares about', a line fans quickly read as a response to the criticism surrounding him.
A Split Without the Spectacle
For a while, the couple seemed to outlast the noise. Wicked promotion kept them in the same orbit, while their quieter public moments suggested they were trying to protect the relationship rather than sell it.
The reported split now changes how the timeline reads. What began with whispers on a film set moved through divorce filings, public backlash, a viral personal essay, and a romance that looked more serious than many first expected.
Sources have described the breakup as low-drama, with the pair said to remain friendly. That detail matters, because it keeps the ending from becoming another scandal and instead frames it as the close of an unusually intense chapter.
For Grande, the reported split lands as she moves through another major career phase. For Slater, it closes a period that reshaped his image beyond Broadway and made his private life part of a much larger pop-culture conversation.
