Days after Ariana Grande’s 2023 split from ex-husband Dalton Gomez made headlines, news broke that she was dating Ethan Slater.
Grande and the actor were together for three years before Page Six confirmed their breakup in June 2026.
“Ariana and Ethan broke up several months ago but they’ve remained friends since then and have nothing but respect and admiration for one another,” a source told us at the time. “This wasn’t a decision they took lightly but realized they were better off friends than in a committed relationship.”
The insider added, “Ariana is feeling really happy and focused on the next chapter with her ‘Eternal Sunshine’ tour and the upcoming release of her album ‘Petal.’”
Grande and Slater met while co-starring in “Wicked,” in which they respectively played Glinda the Good Witch and Boq.
Get to know more about the Tony nominee’s career, as well as his ex-wife and young son, below.
His Broadway career
After acting off-Broadway in “Baghdaddy” and more shows, Slater made his Broadway debut as the titular character in the “SpongeBob SquarePants” play from 2017 to 2018.
In addition to receiving a Drama Desk Award for the role, Slater was nominated for a Tony.
He went back to acting off-Broadway with roles in “Camelot,” “Assassins” and “Goodnight, Oscar” before joining Grande and the rest of the “Wicked” cast in adapting the play.
His education
Slater, who grew up in Maryland with two sisters and two stepbrothers, attended Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School and Georgetown Day School.
He went on to attend Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
The actor, born in 1992, was a sophomore in college when he landed the eponymous role in “SpongeBob SquarePants.”
His love life
Slater married his former high school sweetheart Lilly Jay in 2018, six years after the couple began dating.
He penned a touching Instagram tribute to his wife in November 2022, gushing, “My best friend. 4 years married, 10 years together. And this is easily the best (and most *bizarre*) year yet.”
While it is unclear exactly when Slater and the psychologist called it quits, Jay lashed out as Grande in 2023, exclusively telling Page Six the “Victorious” alum was “not a girl’s girl.”
She oenned a viral essay about her “sudden” divorce for the Cut in 2024.
“Consumed by the magic and mundanity of new motherhood, I didn’t understand the growing distance between us,” Jay wrote at the time, noting that her “darkest” days post-split were when she couldn’t “escape the promotion of a movie associated with the saddest days of [her] life.”
His baby boy
Before breaking up, Slater and Jay welcomed a son.
The new dad revealed the news in a January 2023 Instagram post by sharing a photo of a “Wicked Cute” onesie. “Super vague post, but we have a baby now,” he captioned the upload.
Four months later, he confirmed the little one’s sex when he referred to the child as “little guy” while wishing “wonderful” Jay a happy Mother’s Day.
Jay gave rare insight into their co-parenting dynamic in her 2024 essay, writing, “While our partnership has changed, our parenthood has not. Both of us fiercely love our son 100 percent of the time, regardless of how our parenting time is divided.”
His and Grande’s breakup
Prior to Page Six confirming Grande and Slater’s split, the pair set tongues wagging by keeping their distance from each other during the “Wicked: For Good” press tour in late 2025.
Slater, additionally, skirted a “Today” show question about working with his girlfriend specifically — and, instead, praised the whole cast.
However, eagle-eyed fans speculated the duo were still going strong after spotting Slater in Elizabeth Gillies’ Instagram carousel supporting Grande’s “Saturday Night Live” hosting gig in December 2025.
Later that same month, Slater included the “Side to Side” singer in his “very merry” holiday roundup.
Once Grande and Slater’s split was confirmed, social media users noticed the latter subtly sending love to his ex with Instagram “likes.”
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