After the news of his connection with Ariana Grande broke, Ethan Slater took the decision to turn his Instagram account into a private one.
On Thursday, only a few hours after the news came that Grande had moved on with the actor — after the termination of her marriage to Dalton Gomez — Slater closed off his account, enabling only his 84,000 followers to read his postings. This decision was made shortly after the news broke that Grande had moved on with the actor.
Thursday morning brought confirmation from a reliable source that the two Wicked co-stars are dating one other.
“Ariana and Ethan just began dating not too long ago. According to the insider, “they have a lot of fun together and share a lot of common interests.” They didn’t start dating until both of them had ended their relationships with the people who were crucial in their lives. Both Ariana and Dalton continue to be good friends.
Slater will play Boq, a Munchkin who is head over heels in love with Galinda, who will be portrayed by Grande in the forthcoming adaption of the well-known musical that will be directed by Jon M. Chu. Grande will eventually choose not to pursue a romantic relationship with Boq. (Boq will eventually transform into the Tin Man as Wicked prepares the groundwork for The Wizard of Oz.)
TMZ, which was the first to disclose the news, published a photo of the two of them together from the March party that the cast of Wicked had to celebrate Michelle Yeoh’s Oscar victory for her role in the musical.
The revelation of the connection comes just days after a source revealed to ET that Grande and Gomez had divorced after two years of marriage, adding that the couple — who wed in May 2021, five months after announcing their engagement — “ultimately were just not a good fit.” The news of the relationship comes just days after ET was informed that Grande and Gomez had split after two years of marriage.
“Ariana and Dalton’s friends have always been concerned by their whirlwind romance and felt that their relationship would ultimately be short-lived,” a another insider revealed on Monday. “Their relationship has gone through some rough patches throughout the years, and because of their busy schedules, they’ve had trouble finding time for each other.”
In 2018, Slater wed Lilly Jay, a girl he had known since they were in the same high school class. The year before last, the couple became parents for the first time, to a boy.
After hearing the news that she was leaving the cast of Wicked, Grande has received a lot of support from her fellow cast members. She and her Fiyero, the actor Jonathan Bailey from Bridgerton, went to the men’s final at Wimbledon over the weekend, and she was seen shopping in London on Tuesday with Cynthia Erivo, who plays Glinda to her Elphaba.
In addition to Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum, the cast of the picture from Universal Pictures also includes Bowen Yang, Keala Settle, and a number of others. It is scheduled to be released in two parts in November 2024 and November 2025.