Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater split after romance that sparked controversy

Thursday, 11 June 2026

Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater have reportedly split after nearly three years together.

The pair met in 2023 while filming Wicked, where Grande plays Glinda and Slater plays Boq.

Their relationship attracted global attention because it emerged around the end of both stars’ marriages.

Slater’s ex-wife, Dr Lilly Jay, later wrote publicly about navigating divorce and new motherhood after the breakdown of their marriage.

The split comes as Grande launches her first tour since 2019 and prepares to release her new album, Petal, next month.

Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater have reportedly split, ending a relationship that drew intense public scrutiny after the Wicked co-stars began dating following the breakdown of their respective marriages.

The couple quietly separated several months ago and remain on good terms, according to US magazine People, which reported the split was amicable and came after “lots of time and careful consideration”.

Grande, 32, and Slater, 34, met in 2023 while filming the two-part Wicked movie adaptation in the United Kingdom. Grande stars as Glinda the Good Witch, while Slater plays Boq Woodsman, the character who later becomes the Tin Man.

Their relationship quickly became one of the entertainment world’s most talked-about romances because news of it emerged around the end of both stars’ marriages.

Before dating Grande, Slater had been married to his high school sweetheart, clinical psychologist Dr Lilly Jay. The pair welcomed their first child in August 2022.

Grande was married to luxury real estate broker Dalton Gomez. The singer and Gomez separated in 2023 after two years of marriage.

Reports at the time said Grande and Slater’s relationship began after both had separated from their spouses, but the timeline surrounding the relationship became the subject of widespread public discussion and speculation.

Much of that attention later centred on Jay, who wrote a deeply personal essay for The Cut in December 2024 about the collapse of her marriage, becoming a new mother and finding herself thrust into an international celebrity story.

“No one gets married thinking they’ll get divorced, in the same way we don’t board a plane expecting to crash,” Jay wrote.

“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.”

Jay described moving to England with the couple’s infant son to support Slater while he filmed Wicked.

“I confidently moved to another country with my 2-month-old baby and my husband to support his career,” she wrote.

“Consumed by the magic and mundanity of new motherhood, I didn’t understand the growing distance between us.”

The psychologist also revealed she experienced postpartum depression during that period and reflected on rebuilding her life after the separation.

Despite the end of their marriage, Jay said both parents remained devoted to their son.

“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.”

Grande and Slater made their relationship public in 2024 and later appeared together at a series of promotional events for Wicked and its sequel.

Both divorces were finalised during the period they were together.

The reported split comes as Grande embarks on her first concert tour since 2019 and prepares to release her new album, Petal, next month. Slater’s career includes a Tony Award nomination for SpongeBob SquarePants and his role in the blockbuster Wicked films.