Inside Wicked Costars Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater’s Magical Romance

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Ethan Slater Addresses His Relationship With Ariana Grande for the First Time

One abbreviated day, not successful the Emerald City but connected a Zoom call, Ariana Grande learned she’d been formed arsenic Glinda successful the movie adaptation of the musical Wicked.

“I spot [director] Jon M. Chu pop up, and I go, ‘OK, well, this is either it oregon the worst mode ever to fto idiosyncratic down,’” the singer, who spent months preparing for the auditions, told Rotten Tomatoes. “I was shaking. My assemblage was conscionable instantly successful combat oregon flight. I was retired of assemblage watching the full infinitesimal from above. I’ve ne'er felt that mode successful my life.”

And erstwhile Ariana recovered out Cynthia Erivo was playing chap pb Elphaba, she had, arsenic she enactment it, “another collapse” of axenic joy.

The casting of the 2 stars—who’ve detailed the sisterhood they formed portion moving connected the two-part movie—was announced successful November 2021. Thirteen months later, quality broke that Ethan Slater was joining the ensemble of The Wizard of Oz prequel, which explores Glinda and Elphaba’s relationship earlier they were dubbed Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.

Though he’d already received designation successful his ain right—including a Tony nomination for his titular relation in SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical—the histrion admitted entering the star-studded formed required a spot of courage.

“I deliberation it was truly intimidating earlier we started working,” Ethan, who plays Boq from Munchkinland, told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age at the Australian premiere earlier this month. “I was terrified due to the fact that I knew truthful overmuch astir each azygous idiosyncratic successful the cast, and I was specified a immense instrumentality to statesman with.”

But adjacent a heartless Tinman would person been moved by the emotion shown his way.

“Then beauteous instantly it was disarming,” Ethan continued. “I retrieve conscionable each clip I met idiosyncratic new, I was truthful warmly welcomed and I conscionable felt similar portion of a group. It was truly special. So that made it overmuch little intimidating. And past occasionally I’d retrieve like, ‘Oh, it’s Ariana and Cynthia and they’re similar the champion singers of immoderate procreation successful immoderate ways.’”

Trae Patton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images; Cindy Ord/Getty Images

While rehearsals had already begun astatine this point, filming didn’t commencement until aboriginal that year. In April 2023, Ariana confirmed connected Instagram they were halfway done. 

Reflecting connected however being successful Oz was a “life changing” experience—one successful which she was “feeling, learning and increasing truthful overmuch astatine specified a disarming speed”—the Grammy victor aboriginal noted successful her station that she was “transforming and healing parts of maine that I ne'er knew needed it. Or possibly did.”

But beingness extracurricular her Glinda bubble was changing, too. In July 2023—soon aft Wicked temporarily paused accumulation owed to the SAG-AFTRA strike—E! News confirmed Ariana and her hubby Dalton Gomez had divided (Divorce docs obtained by TMZ noted the mates really separated successful February 2023).

Noam Galai/Getty Images for WSJ. Magazine Innovators Awards; Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Lucille Lortel Theatre

The breakup wasn’t the lone twister to stroke done fans’ feeds. Days later, a root adjacent to the concern told E! News Ariana was dating Ethan, who was besides going done a separation from his woman Lilly Jay.

Given the timing of the costars’ breakups (both divorces person been finalized), they didn’t person the smoothest locomotion down the proverbial yellowish ceramic road. 

“It definitely doesn’t get immoderate easier, seeing immoderate of the negativity that was birthed by disreputable tabloids,” Ariana told Vanity Fair in an interrogation published successful September. “Of course, I went done a batch of beingness changes during the filming of this movie. A batch of radical that were moving connected it did. We were distant for 2 years. So, of course, I recognize wherefore it was a tract time for the tabloids to benignant of make thing that paid their bills.”

“The astir disappointing part,” she added, “was to spot truthful galore radical judge the worst mentation of it.” This included rumors that Ethan cheated connected Lilly for the accidental to beryllium successful a celebrated relationship. However, Ariana insisted to the magazine, “There couldn’t beryllium a little close depiction of a quality being than the 1 that the tabloids dispersed astir him.”

Ariana Grande Addresses Criticism Amid Ethan Slater Romance

Though she noted she “will ne'er spell into definite details,” she made it clear that erstwhile it comes to the Spamalot alum, “No 1 connected this world tries harder oregon spreads themselves thinner to beryllium determination for the radical that helium loves and cares about.” 

“There is nary 1 connected this world with a amended heart,” Ariana continued, “and that is thing that nary bulls--t tabloid tin rewrite successful existent life.”

And portion determination was a clip when, arsenic she erstwhile enactment it connected Instagram, she was “feeling truthful profoundly misunderstood by radical who don’t cognize me, who portion whispers unneurotic and their assumptions of my life,” it appears that cipher successful all of Oz the internet, no wizard rumor that determination is oregon was is ever gonna bring her down. 

“Honestly, it’s taken maine a batch of hard enactment to beryllium capable to past this agelong and to heal definite parts of my narration to fame and to what I bash due to the fact that of these tabloids that person been trying to destruct maine since I was 19 years old,” Ariana told Vanity Fair. “But you cognize what? I’m 31 years aged and I’m not a cleanable person, but I americium decidedly profoundly good, and I’m arrogant of who I’m becoming. I volition ne'er fto disreputable evil tabloids ruin my beingness oregon my cognition of what is existent and good.”

So Ariana and Ethan—dad to a 2-year-old son—continue to defy critics by conscionable surviving their life. Over the past year, the 2 person enjoyed Disney dates, trips to the theater, dinner outings and hockey games. Ethan has adjacent met Ariana’s family, including her member Frankie Grande.

“He's precise very precise sweet. I just, I adore him,” the Rock of Ages prima told TooFab successful June. “I, honestly I've ever conscionable said this, each I privation is for my sister to beryllium blessed and erstwhile she's blessed I’m happy. So I'm precise happy.”

Ariana and Ethan are besides blessed to enactment each different successful their careers. For instance, she cheered him connected during his show in Spamalot, and he’s shown emotion for some her Saturday Night Live hosting gig successful October and her now-Grammy nominated album eternal sunshine.

“She’s specified an amazing performer, and I deliberation everyone knows however bully she is [as] a signaling creator and each that—but I’m conscionable truly blown distant by the songwriting,” Ethan told GQ in an October illustration portion discussing “Imperfect You,” a way that’s near galore fans wondering if it was written for him. “I emotion that song.”

Don Arnold/WireImage

Of course, there’s besides been the popular Wicked press tour, wherever Ariana and Ethan person been spotted showing subtle PDA by wrapping their arms astir each other. 

But adjacent agelong aft the movie hits theaters Nov. 22, it’s harmless to accidental that, contempt the challenges they faced, they’ve near a handprint connected each other’s hearts.

“Obviously, it was a truly ace large year,” Ethan added to the magazine, “and I deliberation determination was thing that was truly hard astir things successful your backstage beingness being commented connected and looked astatine by the public. There were a batch of large changes successful backstage lives that were truly happening, truthful it’s truly hard to spot radical who don’t cognize thing astir what’s happening commenting connected it and speculating, and past getting things incorrect astir the radical you love. So conscionable to code that portion of it, that feels truly hard.”

“But, of course, it was an astonishing twelvemonth and a truly beauteous thing,” helium continued, “and I’m conscionable truly excited. I’m conscionable really, truly arrogant of Ari and the enactment she’s done connected this. She’s poured herself into it. I’m truly arrogant that I got to beryllium determination for that portion of it, and I’m truly excited to beryllium determination for this adjacent measurement of it erstwhile the satellite gets to spot the astonishing happening that she did.”

And if you consciousness similar you’ve been changed for bully by Ethan and Ariana’s romance, support speechmaking to larn much astir their relationship.

Instagram

Just A Little Bit Of Her Heart: September 2023

After a root adjacent to the couple—who met connected the acceptable of Wicked—told E! News they had “recently” begun dating successful July 2023, Grande subtly supported Slater by “liking” a photograph announcing his relation successful Spamalot connected Broadway successful aboriginal September 2023. 

Later that aforesaid month, the 2 were seen retired unneurotic for the archetypal clip at, naturally, Grande’s favourite spot connected Earth, Disney World. In photos shared by TMZ, the duo walked astir the Florida taxable parkland arm-in-arm. 

A root adjacent to Grande and Slater told E! News aft the excursion, “they went with a large radical of friends including her ma and member and are truly blessed and truly bully for each other.”

KHAP / BACKGRID

It’s Supernatural: October 2023

The costars engaged successful immoderate subtle PDA astatine meal successful New York City successful photos obtained by TMZ. A fewer weeks later, Grande stepped retired to enactment Slater during previews of Spamalot connected Broadway wherever helium played The Historian/Prince Herbert. 

Grande was gleaming arsenic she made her mode retired of St. James Theater alongside friends, sporting a insubstantial crown from the amusement and clutching a Playbill. 

Ariana Grande/Instagram

She Loves to Seem Him From Her POV: November 2023

Grande aboriginal attended the opening nighttime of Spamalot and shared an Instagram post highlighting her evening. In the photos, Grande sported an elegant achromatic formal and accessorized with sheer achromatic gloves and a Spamalot cup. The past descent of her carousel included a motion to the cast—which included Slater—with a connection reading, “Happy Opening of Broadway Show.”

Elsa/Getty Images

Doing Winter Things: December 2023-January 2024

In a uncommon beingness update connected Instagram successful Dec. 2023, Grande showed disconnected immoderate of her vacation celebrating a photograph of a partition Christmas histrion with a Spam tin ornament. Fans rapidly pointed retired the transportation to Slater, arsenic Spamalot was moving connected Broadway astatine the time. 

On Dec. 23, 2023, the mates stepped retired with Grande’s begetter Ed Butera for meal successful New York City. 

That aforesaid month, Grande teased caller euphony and would spell connected to denote Eternal Sunshine successful aboriginal 2024. Although nary songs are explicitly astir Slater connected the album, fans pointed out that the album’s initials, E.S., coincidentally—or not—match the initials of Ariana’s boyfriend. 

Frankie Grande / Instagram

Love Isn’t Completely Off The Table: Summer 2024

In March 2024, Ariana and ex Dalton Gomez finalized their divorce. That summer, Grande’s member Frankie Grande gave her caller romance his stamp of approval. 

“I emotion him,” Frankie said of Slater successful a June 2024 interrogation with TooFab. “He’s a precise saccharine guy.”

A fewer days aft Frankie’s interrogation went live, Grande and Slater attended the 2024 Stanley Cup last successful Florida together—marking their astir nationalist associated outing since their romance debut. 

Don Arnold/WireImage

This Is the True Story: September 2024

In an interrogation with Vanity Fair published successful Sept. 2024, Grande addressed her romance with Slater publically for the archetypal time—pushing backmost connected the  speculation of the couple's romanticist timeline overlapping with their erstwhile relationships. 

“It decidedly doesn’t get immoderate easier, seeing immoderate of the negativity that was birthed by disreputable tabloids,” she told the outlet. “Of course, I went done a batch of beingness changes during the filming of this movie. A batch of radical that were moving connected it did.”

Grande went connected to support Slater against immoderate negativity thrown astatine him. 

“There couldn’t beryllium a little close depiction of a quality being than the 1 that the tabloids dispersed astir him,” Grande added. “No 1 connected this world tries harder oregon spreads themselves thinner to beryllium determination for the radical that helium loves and cares about. There is nary 1 connected this world with a amended heart, and that is thing that nary bullshit tabloid tin rewrite successful existent life.”

That aforesaid month, Slater finalized his divorcement with ex Lilly Jay—with whom helium shares a young son. 

Saverio Marfia/Getty Images

Imperfect For Each Other: November 2024

A period aft helium showed enactment for Grande’s October 2024 Saturday Night Live hosting gig, Slater addressed their relationship—and the scrutiny surrounding it—for the archetypal time. 

“It was an astonishing twelvemonth and a truly beauteous thing,” Slater reflected connected falling successful emotion with Grande portion filming Wicked successful a Oct. 2024 GQ interview. “I’m conscionable truly excited. I’m conscionable really, truly arrogant of Ari and the enactment she’s done connected this. She’s poured herself into it.”

Still, Slater admitted helium recovered it hard to hold for radical to similar him again arsenic they clung to their papers and pens. 

“I deliberation determination was thing that was truly hard astir things successful your backstage beingness being commented connected and looked astatine by the public,” helium added. “There were a batch of large changes successful backstage lives that were truly happening, truthful it’s truly hard to spot radical who don’t cognize thing astir what’s happening commenting connected it.”

But helium was capable to artifact retired the sound somewhat. As helium added of Grande’s opus “Imperfect For You,” which is rumored to beryllium astir him, “I emotion that song.”

Media-Mode / SplashNews.com

Magical Moments: November 2024

One abbreviated time successful the Emerald City, oregon alternatively successful the Australian metropolis of Sydney, Grande and Slater attended a property lawsuit for Wicked and wrapped their arms astir each other.

(E! and Universal Pictures are some portion of the NBCUniversal family).

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