Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater quietly split after three years of dating, Page Six has confirmed.
“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 Monday. “This wasn’t a decision they took lightly but realized they were better off friends than in a committed relationship.”
“Ariana is feeling really happy and focused on the next chapter with her Eternal Sunshine Tour and the upcoming release of her album ‘Petal,’” the source added.
TMZ was first to report the news.
The outlet also reported that Grande’s new album was not inspired by the breakup, or her relationship with Slater.
Grande, 32, and Slater, 34, met on the set of “Wicked.” Both were married at the time — Grande to her now ex-husband, Dalton Gomez, and Slater to his high school sweetheart Lilly Jay. Slater and Jay share their 3-year-old son, Ezra, together.
In June 2023, Slater’s ex-wife blasted Grande to Page Six after news of his budding romance with Grande broke.
“[Ariana’s] the story, really. Not a girl’s girl,” Jay exclusively told Page Six. “My family is just collateral damage.”
However, a source told Page Six at the time that Grande and Slater “didn’t do anything wrong.”
“[Jay is] rightfully upset because her marriage fell apart, but Ariana and Ethan didn’t do anything wrong,” the insider said, telling us that Slater had been separated from Jay for two months before romancing Grande.
Though Grande and Slater remained largely private about their romance over the past three years, Slater did share intimate pics of Grande celebrating the holidays at home in December.
Grande kicked off her highly anticipated “Eternal Sunshine” tour Saturday at the Oakland Arena in Oakland, California, and referenced her divorce while singing her 2019 hit “Thank U, Next,” a song famously about her ex-boyfriends, including Pete Davidson, Big Sean and the late Mac Miller.
The lyrics include, “One day I’ll walk down the aisle / Holding hands with my mama … Only wanna do it once, real bad / Gon’ make that last.”
After singing, “Only wanna do it once, real bad” on Saturday, Grande playfully held up two fingers and laughed, seemingly referring to her being open to remarrying after her first marriage to Dalton didn’t work.
This story is developing…
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