Ethan Slater’s ex-wife Dr. Lilly Jay has remained silent since their divorce was finalized, but in the wake of endless promotion for part one of Wicked, she’s ready to talk. Her first-person essay titled, “How Does My Divorce Make You Feel?” for The Cut drives home how grueling a public breakup can be for a very private person.
Slater’s relationship timeline with Ariana Grande has been debated by fans and by the couple themselves, who insist they waited until after they were separated from their spouses to begin a romance. Still, Jay offers a breadcrumb trail of clues that allude to her ex-husband’s affair.
She chronicles her pregnancy with the couple’s son, describing herself as never feeling “happier nor more aware of how precarious happiness could be” and how after his birth, “our family was whole.” Little did she know that her most challenging chapter in life was ahead of her as she “confidently moved to another country with my 2-month-old baby and my husband to support his career.” She was “consumed by the magic and mundanity of new motherhood” while there was a “growing distance” between her and Slater while he was filming Wicked.
While living in a new country, experiencing postpartum depression, and juggling her career and motherhood, her husband slipped away. Yet she had a moment of clarity when she seemed to realize what was occupying Slater. “One day in London, I looked up and found that they had both arrived,” she wrote. While she doesn’t mention the affair or call out Grande by name, the hints are there in the essay. “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 said.
The essay was Jay’s way of taking back her power after it had been ripped away from her at a very vulnerable time in her life. The tabloid headlines took over after she broke her silence in July 2023 to Page Six. “[Ariana’s] the story really. Not a girl’s girl,” she said to the outlet just after Slater filed for divorce. “My family is just collateral damage.” Fans didn’t hear from Jay again — until now.
Sources on the set of Wicked also shared that Grande and Slater were “sloppy” with their affair. “Ethan sat Lilly down a few days before the news broke about him and Ariana and said that he wanted a divorce,” the insider told Us Weekly. “Lilly never saw it coming!” But maybe Jay did see it coming… that day in London when “they both arrived.” The energy they gave off may have changed the vibes and the intuition kicked in — something was going on. Yet Jay may not have been ready to admit it to herself at the time.
Slater and Grande may never agree with Jay’s timeline of events, but it’s clear that their relationship ripped apart more than one person’s life. Now, Jay is ready to reclaim the narrative on her terms.
Before you go, click here to see more co-star couples we’ll always wonder about.
