Just because we learned that Ariana Grande is dating her Wicked costar Ethan Slater a mere three days after news broke that Grande was splitting from then husband Dalton Gomez doesn’t mean the timeline was equally as rushed…. Who are we kidding? This whole thing was wild.
And yet, now that it’s been more than a year since Grande and Slater’s relationship went public, the shock is beginning to ebb. In fact, many fans who were staunchly critical of Slater say they’re starting to “see the appeal” as the two promote the project that brought them together. But that doesn’t mean everyone’s forgotten the relationship’s controversial beginnings.
According to those first few sources, Grande was still working on her relationship with Gomez when she flew to the UK to film the musical movie Wicked in December 2022, though a source told Us Weekly that the couple were “having issues” and “the distance did not help.” Meanwhile, Grande’s current boyfriend—who was known for playing Spongebob Squarepants on Broadway before taking on the Munchkin Boq in Wicked—was also in a committed relationship when filming began. In fact, Slater had been married to high school sweetheart Lilly Jay since 2018 and welcomed his first child with her sometime in 2022.
So what’s their actual relationship timeline? Here’s everything we know about Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater’s romance, with the most recent developments at the top.
January 23, 2025: After Ariana Grande lands her first Oscar nomination for her role as Glinda in Wicked, Slater shares a celebratory photo to his Instagram grid. In it, Grande appears to be looking out the window of a hotel room, a bouquet of Glinda-pink balloons in her hand.
Though he didn’t caption the photo, he made sure to tag the Academy, the Wicked movie account, and Grande, just to avoid any confusion.
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