Ding Dong the Relationship Between Ariana Grande and ‘Wicked’ Co-Star Ethan Slater Is Dead
Ethan Slater and Ariana Grande were both married when they met.
Published June 9 2026, 11:58 a.m. ET
In a move that most people probably saw coming, Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater have broken up. The pair reportedly split up after three years together, after they began seeing each other while filming the Wicked movies. Ariana is Glinda (formerly Galinda) and Ethan plays Boq (later on, the Tin Man) in the films.
When the pair met on the set of the first movie, they were both married. Naturally, when Ethan and Eriana coupled up, it caused some controversy for them both. Three years later, however, after there had already been speculation about the future of their relationship amid Ariana's 2026 tour, they are over.
Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater's breakup was not surprising to some.
In June 2026, People reported that a source close to Ariana and Ethan confirmed that they split up months before the news of the split. The pair dated for three years but, per the unnamed source, the breakup was "amicable." Although they met on the set of the Wicked movies, which filmed back to back, they continued to date as they promoted the films and each other's work outside of the movies.
Eventually, however, they apparently dedicated mutually that their relationship had run its course.
"They gave lots of time and careful consideration and decided to go their separate ways," the source told People. "They are still friends and very supportive of one another. They have been quietly broken up for several months."
There was some speculation about Ariana and Ethan's relationship being over in 2025, well before the 2026 confirmation from the individual close to the former couple. When The Hollywood Reporter spoke to Ethan on the red carpet for his Prime Video show Gen V and asked him if he knew anything about her then-upcoming album and tour, he admitted he didn't. And in the comments under a TikTok of that interview, there was already speculation.
"They're totally broken up," one user commented at the time.
Another shared a screenshot of Ethan and wrote, "That look up is holding back tears."
Others speculated that Ethan signed an NDA and was contractually unable to speak of Ariana post-breakup. Whether or not Ariana and Ethan were already broken up at that time, apparently, TikTok was on to something.
Did Ethan Slater cheat on his wife with Ariana Grande?
Ariana and her now ex-husband Dalton Gomez split up before she publicly got together with Ethan. However, there is the belief among some fans that Ethan cheated on his former wife, Lilly Jay, or that there was some kind of overlap. Ethan didn't admit to this, however Lilly did write an essay for The Cut in 2024.
In it, she spoke about the difficult divorce and being thrust into the public eye because of Ethan and Ariana's relationship and the timing of it. She also admitted how hard it was for her to see worldwide promotion for Wicked which was, for her, part of "the saddest days" of her life at that point.