Ethan Slater and Ariana Grande Are Done — But Is Anyone Really Surprised?
So. Ethan Slater and Ariana Grande are over. The pair have been quietly broken up for several months, with sources describing the split as amicable and saying they remain friends and are supportive of one another.
Nice. Very mature. Very civilised.
Let’s Remember How This Started Though
Ariana and Ethan first connected while working together on Wicked, with their relationship emerging publicly in July 2023 after Ariana separated from her then-husband Dalton Gomez. Everything looked fine from the outside Ethan Slater, meanwhile, was married to Lilly Jay, his childhood sweetheart and the mother of his child. He left that marriage too.
Slater appeared backstage when Grande hosted SNL in December 2025. She publicly praised his off-Broadway show Marcel on the Train earlier this year. They attended awards seasons together, supported each other’s projects quietly, and kept their relationship unusually private for two people in the public eye.
Two families. Two divorces. One Wicked set. And now, less than three years later, it is over.
Is Anyone Actually Heartbroken?
Honestly? Hard to say. Sources say the pair have nothing but respect and admiration for each other. Fans of Ariana have spent the past three years oscillating between defending the relationship and quietly acknowledging it started in circumstances that were never ideal.
Now that it is over, a significant portion of the internet is less “devastated” and more “well.”
Is Her New Album About the Breakup?
Before anyone starts over-analysing lyric sheets: sources close to the former couple tell TMZ that Ariana’s new album was not at all inspired by the breakup, nor is the music about her relationship with Ethan. So we can all stand down on that theory.
Ethan Slater, 34, built his profile on Broadway, broke through globally with Wicked, and wrote and starred in his own off-Broadway show this year. He’ll be fine. Ariana Grande, 32, has a new album incoming and approximately the entire world waiting for it. She’ll also be fine.
Sometimes things just end. That’s the whole story.
