So if you care to find them, look… as hard as you can – but you probably won’t have much luck.
For despite aggressively promoting Wicked last year and lapping up the praise on the awards circuit together, Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater have not been spotted together for months.
Instead, the controversial couple are struggling to shake off frenzied split rumors just weeks from the release of part two, Wicked: For Good.
Fans have had a feverish interest in the duo ever since news of their romance broke two years ago. At the time, Grande had just split from her husband Dalton Gomez, 30, while Slater, 33, was still married to his high school sweetheart Lilly Jay with whom he had a then one-year-old son.
Unsurprisingly, Grande, 32, was branded a ‘homewrecker’ and her PR team went into overdrive, furiously quashing any talk of an affair. Their efforts were threatened when clinical psychologist Jay later claimed she had been blindsided by the relationship in a scathing personal essay for The Cut. She described the fallout as a ‘darkness’ that she struggled to ‘escape’ as she tried to ‘accept the sudden public downfall of my marriage.’
Soon followed a cascade of appearances at the Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards, the Golden Globes, the BAFTAs, the SAG Awards and the Oscars where Grande made no qualms about flaunting her romance with Broadway regular Slater, with the pair embracing in front of the cameras.
Ethan Slater and Ariana Grande have gone from discussing plans for marriage to struggling to keep hold of their relationship, according to insiders
The pair have not been seen together since April, despite multiple appearances in the months before
It was at this time that an insider told us that marriage was ‘definitely in Ariana and Ethan’s future’ so much so that they were even considering saying ‘I do’ this year.
‘They’ve both purposely cleared their schedules until Wicked: For Good is released in November,’ they said. ‘They’re exhausted from shooting and from all the promotional work Ariana has had to do for Wicked.
‘Now all that’s over they’re going to take some vacation time. They plan on touring Europe and Asia too. They also want to relax on a beach somewhere and just chill for a couple of weeks.’
But, unlike her character Glinda, Grande and Slater’s bubble was soon to pop.
Their last public appearance together was in late April when Slater joined the singer at a preview of Little Shop of Horrors, in support of her Victorious co-star Liz Gillies. It also marked the last time Slater featured on Grande’s Instagram grid.
For the most part her page is an homage to Wicked and promoting her r.e.m beauty line with no sign of Slater, who plays munchkin Boq Woodsman in Jon Chu’s blockbuster adaptation. He was also absent at the MTV VMAs last month where Grande received three awards. However he did share a video on his Instagram Stories of the singer giving her acceptance speech for Best Pop, albeit with no congratulatory message. Days before he had been spotted on a stroll with Jay and their son in Jersey City.
So, what’s really going on?
‘Ariana and Ethan have been on and off for most of this year,’ an insider told us. ‘He chose not to attend the MTV VMAs with her because they’d had an argument just days before. But they made up soon after. They’ve both been running hot and cold with each other.’
‘Ariana and Ethan have been on and off for most of this year,’ an insider told the Daily Mail. ‘They’ve both been running hot and cold with each other’
When news of their romance broke in 2023 Grande had just split from her husband Dalton Gomez while Slater was still married to Lilly Jay (pictured) with whom he had a then one-year-old son
After all, meeting on the set of Wicked in 2022 while both in long term relationships and then falling in love and dealing with the subsequent backlash so publicly was never going to be easy.
It was first reported in July 2023 that they were dating, just days after news of Grande’s split from ex-husband Gomez broke, and Slater filed for divorce.
That November, claims surfaced that the duo had taken their relationship to the next level, with Grande said to be living with the Spongebob Squarepants actor in New York City, during his turn in Broadway musical Spamalot.
Months later a furore broke out over the release of her singles Yes, and? – which appears to take aim at the hate she received over their romance – and The Boy is Mine on which she sings about a man she shouldn’t date because she ‘don’t wanna ’cause no scene’ as she is ‘usually so unproblematic.’
Critics have been feeding on signs their romance is not built to last and have long speculated that they have in fact silently split. Many have suggested they will not make it known until after Wicked 2 premieres and the hype dies down so as not to overshadow the release and the run up to the 2026 awards season.
Such predictions were further fueled earlier this month when a blind item claimed ‘Spongebob will not be allowed to do solo press for the upcoming movie. He will be allowed to do group events.’ It went on to claim that in ‘protest’ the man in question was planning to bring his ex. Another blind claimed an unnamed star has ‘given strict instructions that no one can ask about her significant other’ during interviews.
‘What they have going is more than a little toxic but they’re keeping it together for now,’ our insider said. ‘At least until after Wicked: For Good opens. After that it’s doubtful they’ll stay together. The relationship is unhealthy for both.
‘At one time they discussed marriage but that is no longer on the table. They fell head over heels in love when they first hooked up. But those days are over.’
Unsurprisingly, Grande was branded a ‘homewrecker’ and her PR team went into overdrive, furiously quashing any talk of an affair (pictured during their time on Wicked)
Another insider echoed: ‘The infatuation has worn off, some of the novelty. So they’re having to decide what’s left. Maybe she sees something that goes beyond the crush. But if there’s nothing more than what there was, it won’t last.’
Sources previously told the Daily Mail that Grande’s career and level of fame has been another obstacle – Slater himself described her fans as ‘ferocious’ and ‘intense’ in a recent interview.
She has been busy gearing up for her Eternal Sunshine tour, filming Focker In-Law as well as an animated adaptation of Dr Seuss’ Oh, The Places You’ll Go!.
‘It is what it is, it is not over but it is not her priority right now,’ added another source.
