Ariana Grande And Ethan Slater's Controversial Relationship Timeline, Explained

Ariana Grande and her new beau Ethan Slater may seem like a sweet and fun new couple upon first glance, but their relationship timeline is littered with drama. Of course, Grande's no stranger to having her love life scrutinized. The former Nickelodeon star has been linked to everyone from Big Sean to Mac Miller to Pete Davidson, and each relationship has made countless headlines. The headlines only continued when she struck up a romance with her "Wicked" costar. 

"It definitely doesn't get any easier, seeing some of the negativity that was birthed by disreputable tabloids," Grande said of the noise surrounding their relationship in a September 2024 Vanity Fair story. "Of course, I went through a lot of life changes during the filming of this movie. ... So, of course, I understand why it was a field day for the tabloids to sort of create something that paid their bills."

Wondering why there was so much hubbub about the pop princess and the "SpongeBob SquarePants" actor getting together? Here is Grande and Slater's controversial relationship timeline explained.

Ariana Grande first met her future love interest Ethan Slater when he joined the cast of "Wicked." The hotly anticipated musical directed by Jon M. Chu  is, of course, based on the novel by Gregory Maguire and the mega-popular Broadway production. Grande was cast as Glinda opposite Cynthia Erivo's Elphaba. Slater was cast as a supporting character named Munchkin Boq in December 2022.

When it was time to film, Grande and Slater both headed to the London set with the rest of the cast and crew. It wasn't long before there were whispers about the state of Grande's marriage to real estate agent Dalton Gomez. According to a July 2023 report from TMZ, the two had been on the rocks for several months. 

Meanwhile, Slater, who welcomed a baby with wife Lilly Jay in August 2022, had only recently given his wife a shoutout on Instagram. "Happy first Mother's Day to the most loving caring and wonderful mom/person in the world," he wrote in May 2023 alongside photos of their son.

Behind the scenes, "Wicked" costars Ethan Slater and Ariana Grande apparently got very close — and didn't exactly try to hide it. "They were sloppy on set," an insider dished to the Daily Mail in August 2023. "They were seen making out at a pub in Hampstead, and they were all over each other at Michelle Yeoh's Oscar party. They were seen being all over each other while he was still supposedly happily married to Lilly."

Another source for the Daily Mail says that when their respective spouses came to visit, Grande and Slater went on several double dates with Dalton Gomez and Lilly Jay. "They were seen out by cast members," the source said. "Lilly and Ethan also met Ariana's family together, including her mom and her brother." Grande also reportedly hung out with Slater and Jay's newborn, with sources saying Grande made claims about "wanting a baby someday."

On July 17, 2023, TMZ confirmed that Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez had separated. This report came shortly after Grande was spotted without a particular piece of jewelry at Wimbledon. The pop star was photographed sans wedding ring as she watched Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic in the finals, raising questions about her relationship with Gomez.

Their separation would become a prelude to a divorce that would be filed in September, but sources told TMZ that the two had been having marital difficulties even prior to Grande's time filming "Wicked" in London. Their relationship started back in 2020, and the two announced their engagement after only 11 months of dating. They married in May 2021; the divorce was finalized in March 2024.

After her separation from Gomez, with Grande seemingly free and clear to date new people. Ethan Slater still had not made any official announcement regarding his own marriage.

On July 26, 2023, Us Weekly confirmed that Ethan Slater filed for divorce from Lilly Jay. Slater reportedly told his wife he wanted a divorce days before the story about his and Grande's relationship was made public. 

It was a sudden end to a relationship that began when they were still in high school. They got married in 2018 and welcomed a child in 2022. The day after the divorce news broke, a source told Page Six that Jay was apparently blindsided by her husband's relationship with Grande. The source said, "It's horrible. They were high school sweethearts. They have a baby! She's a wreck."

Jay also broke her silence and made sure to turn the spotlight back on Grande. She told Page Six, "[Ariana's] the story, really. Not a girl's girl. My family is just collateral damage." A source also claimed that Slater and Jay had been apart for two months before he and Grande met. "Ethan is trying to take the high road and hopes he can resolve this situation for the sake of their child," they said. Their divorce was made final in September 2024.

After their respective marriages ended, Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater tried to lay low. Slater made his Instagram private (it has since been made public again), while Grande reportedly waited for the dust to settle as best she could. "Ariana's been told it's too soon to go public with him and to take things slower," a source told Us Weekly in August 2023. The following month, another source told People that the couple was still grappling with the surge of attention."They are just trying to navigate their new relationship in private," they said.

Eventually, the two seemed a little more comfortable being out together. As TMZ reported at the time, they were spotted cozying up together at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in October 2023. That same month, Grande attended a preview of the Broadway revival of "Spamalot" — and yes, Slater was in the production. That December, the pop star seemingly alluded to the drama surrounding her relationship on Instagram Stories. "I have never felt more pride or joy or love while simultaneously feeling so deeply misunderstood by people who don't know me, who piece whispers together and make what they want out of me and their assumptions of my life," she wrote (via Billboard). Around that time, a source told People that Grande and Slater were more than a fling. "Ariana is serious with Ethan," they said. "She loves being with him."

As of this writing, Grande still seems serious about Slater. In the aforementioned 2024 Vanity Fair story, she defended Slater and insisted certain allegations about the circumstances surrounding their relationship were totally bogus. "There is no one on this earth with a better heart, and that is something that no bullsh**t tabloid can rewrite in real life," she said.