Ariana Grande's Rumored New Beau Is Married & Just Welcomed His First Child
Recent reports claiming Ariana Grande is dating her Wicked co-star Ethan Slater have left fans somewhat bewildered given the Broadway actor’s relationship status. Grande, 30, is newly single after it was reported that she has separated from her real estate broker husband, Dalton Gomez, after two years of marriage. Yet, multiple outlets are claiming the singer is already moving on.
TMZ alleges that Grande and Slater, 31, have been casually dating and that Grande’s marriage actually ended in January, though no divorce papers have been filed. Slater, who will play Boq in the film adaptation of Wicked that relocated Grande to London, rose to fame as the titular role in SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical. The co-stars have been photographed together on a number of occasions since production of Wicked began.
However, Ethan Slater’s marital status with his wife Lilly Jay has fans questioning his ties to Ariana Grande.
As evidenced by his Instagram profile, which has since been made private. Slater married his high school sweetheart, Lilly Jay, in November 2018. In January, he revealed that the couple had welcomed a baby and later, in May, penned a post wishing Jay a Happy Mother’s Day from him and their son. TMZ claims Jay and Slater separated before his alleged romance with Grande began but neither he nor his Grammy Award-winning alleged new fling have addressed the rumors.
I’d vomit non-stop if I were the wife. This is Ariana Grande’s new man Ethan Slater. He just had his kid last year with his wife he’d been together for TEN YEARS.
ARIANA GRANDE EVEN LIKED THESE PHOTOS. TMZ EXPLAIN!!! pic.twitter.com/V9zRSBuzD1
— Désirée (@irees) July 20, 2023
As for Grande and Gomez, a source tells People that Grande’s temporary move to the UK for the filming of Wicked took its toll on the couple despite them initially being committed to making things work. “She was happy in Los Angeles for a couple of years. She wanted to make a life there with Dalton,” the source said. “He is super focused on his career and needs to live in Los Angeles. It’s definitely been an issue for them. Dalton’s career is demanding and he can’t leave Los Angeles often. So when [Grande] started filming Wicked in England, they were in for a long-distance marriage.”
The source claimed that though their relationship “didn’t work,” there is no animosity between the former couple. “Ari has nothing but kind words to say about Dalton. During their marriage, he was her No. 1 fan,” they said.
Before you go, click here for all the celebrity splits and divorces we never saw coming.