Ariana Grandes Relationship Struggles Exposed!

It has been seven years since toured for her millions of fans all over the world, but the pop star's years-long hiatus from the stage will soon be over.

The Wicked star, 32, is set to embark on her Eternal Sunshine Tour this summer, kicking off the North America leg in June and concluding in London in September.

Grande has made it clear to fans that this tour will be very different from those of the past, as she aims to prioritize her mental health this time around.

But according to inside sources who spoke exclusively to the Daily Mail, it is more than just an inevitably demanding schedule that has made Grande hesitant to embark on another international tour.

She has been battling post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) since the terrorist bombing at one of her concerts in Manchester back in 2017.

Grande had 'nightmares' and 'a meltdown' following the horrific incident that left 22 dead and over 1,000 injured, and has demanded increased security measures for her upcoming tour, according to an insider.

Her partner, Ethan Slater, 33, is so concerned that he plans to support Grande on the road – even if that means sacrificing his own career.

'He plans to be there for her during the tour on as many dates as possible,' our insider said. 

With Grande busy rehearsing in Los Angeles and Slater in New York City, the pair, whose relationship was rocked by rumors of an , haven't been spending as much time together as of late.

Slater, who shares a three-year-old son with ex-wife Lilly Jay, recently wrapped an off-Broadway stint starring in the play Marcel on the Train, for which he also co-wrote the screenplay.

Apart from his role as Boq in Wicked: For Good, which hit theaters last November, Slater recently appeared in the second season of Prime Video's Gen V series and guest starred in an episode of the CBS drama Elsbeth.

Despite the actor's busy schedule, our insider insisted Slater's main priority is supporting Grande. So much so, he apparently declined an acting job that would have taken him away while she is on tour.

'He has a couple of potential conflicts, but he's trying to work around them so he's her support system,' they said. 'He's even turned down an acting role that would have meant him hardly being by her side.'

A second insider told the Daily Mail how Grande and Slater's conflicting schedules have caused some distance – both geographically and emotionally.

'Ariana has been in Los Angeles doing tour rehearsals. Ethan has been in New York City while she's there,' they said. 'He hasn't visited her and she's been too busy to get back east for more than a couple days.'

They noted that Slater was in attendance at the opening night for Broadway's latest comedy musical Titanique, which stars Grande's older brother Frankie Grande, on April 12.

While fans expected Slater and Grande to attend the opening night together, everyone was 'surprised to see him solo,' the second source shared.

Grande finally made an appearance at Titanique three weeks later, which coincided with Mother's Day. However, the source said some people 'thought it was odd' that she didn't attend with Slater.

'He did not go with her even though he was in town,' they told the Daily Mail.

Although they insisted Grande and Slater's relationship has 'been going really well' and that her family 'really likes' him, the insider said it was hard to ignore the fact that they 'definitely seem to be spending less time together.'

'Ariana definitely has a type and likes things in a relationship to be a certain way – her way,' they added. 'She's usually the dominant one when it comes to who has say.'

The stakes are much higher for Grande these days as she prepares for her first tour in seven years.

In August 2025, the singer surprised fans when she announced her fifth concert tour after teasing the news with cryptic social media posts. 

It is set to kick off on June 6 at the Oakland Arena in California. From there, Grande will perform multiple shows in Los Angeles and Inglewood, California, before several stops across the southern United States.

She will then perform in Brooklyn and Boston, followed by shows in Montreal, Canada, before concluding the North American leg in Chicago. Then it's across the pond for 10 shows at the O2 Arena in London.

The Eternal Sunshine Tour will support her 2024 studio album, Eternal Sunshine, as well as her newly announced album Petal, which is due for release on July 31.

Still, the prospect of performing to thousands of fans is stress-inducing for the singer.

'Ariana has been prepping for her US and UK concert tour for months, but she's still haunted by the horrific Manchester Arena bombing,' our first source said. 'She had nightmares about it for months. She had a meltdown.'

Indeed, Grande has been open about her struggles with anxiety ever since the terror attack in Manchester, which occurred at a concert during her Dangerous Woman tour. 

The following month, she returned to the UK for the One Love Manchester benefit concert to raise money for the victims of the bombing and their families.

She revealed to British Vogue in August 2018 that she had been experiencing signs of PTSD as a result of the event, telling the magazine: 'It's hard to talk about because so many people have suffered such severe, tremendous loss. But, yeah, it's a real thing. I know those families and my fans, and everyone there experienced a tremendous amount of [anxiety] as well.'

That same year, Grande broke down in tears during an interview with Apple's Beats 1 host Ebro Darden while discussing her Sweetener album. She shared how some lyrics on the album addressed topics such as mental health, 'personal demons and anxiety, and more intimate tragedies.'

'There's some dark s*** out there, man,' Grande said at the time. 'And we just have to be there for each other as much as we can. 'Cause you never f***ing know, you know? So, I wanted to do something to make people feel good and less alone. You try not to give into fear because obviously that's the whole point in being here.'

She said she finished the tour to 'set an example for my fans who are fearless enough to show up to the f***ing shows.'

'You want to keep going,' she added. 'You want to just not be afraid, because of course that's what they want. If you give them that, then they've won.

'But the truth is that it's f***ing scary. It's scary going anywhere and you look at places differently and traveling. I don't like to have security come with me everywhere. I don't like those things, it makes me feel un-human.

'I don't want to have metal detectors or people taking tiny a** bags into my shows, but you better bring a tiny a** bag and walk through that metal detector.'

As such, Grande has assured fans that the Eternal Sunshine tour will 'look very different' from her past concerts.

During an appearance on the Good Hang with Amy Poehler podcast in November, she revealed that she was 'very excited to do this small tour,' especially since it will be, as she put it, her 'last hurrah.'

'I do know that I'm very excited to do this small tour, but I think it might not happen again for a long, long, long, long time,' Grande said on the podcast.

'I'm going to give it my all and it's going to be beautiful and I think that's why I'm doing it because I'm like, one last hurrah.'

The last time Grande hit the road was in 2019 for the Sweetener World Tour, during which she played 101 shows across North America and Europe. Her Dangerous Woman Tour in 2017 had a total of 77 dates globally, while her 2015 Honeymoon Tour boasted 88 shows.

This time around, Grande has scaled back to just 30 dates, because, according to our first insider, 'taking on a world concert tour' akin to Taylor Swift's record-breaking Eras Tour was 'too much for [Grande] to even consider.'  

'The stress of doing around 30 dates is all she can handle,' they added. 

Grande's fears were seemingly evident back in November when she was left shaken after a crazed fan ambushed her at the Singapore premiere of Wicked: For Good.

Thankfully, both security and her co-star Cynthia Erivo swooped in to protect her from the .

At the time, a  that the frightening run-in only furthered concerns from friends and family about Grande's escalating 'anxiety' levels, as well as fears that she was 'not in a healthy place' during the grueling Wicked press tour.

So it is perhaps no surprise that Grande has taken extra security measures to guarantee that both herself and her fans will be able to gather safely when she hits the road next month.

'She has insisted on double security on all the dates,' the first source told the Daily Mail. 'She refused to go ahead with it if that clause wasn't agreed to.

'Although it has helped to calm her nerves, the Manchester tragedy will always be on her mind while she's touring. She knows her fans are out there and she loves singing on stage for them. That is why she is doing the concerts, despite her flashbacks to Manchester.'

Determined not to let fear dictate, a third source told the Daily Mail that Grande is 'very excited' to connect with her fans.

'She is very excited about returning to the stage to perform for her fans and to release her eighth album this summer,' they said.

The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Grande and Slater for comment.