Who Is Ariana Grande's Boyfriend? All About Her 'Wicked' Costar Ethan Slater

Mar. 15, 2025

Ariana Grandeisso intoEthan Slater.

In July 2023, PEOPLE learned that the pop star and herWickedcostar were dating. The news of their relationship broke just days after PEOPLE confirmed that Grande had split from her then-husband,Dalton Gomez.

That same month, Slaterfiled for divorcefrom his now ex-wife,Lilly Jay. The former couple, who welcomed a son in August 2022, eventuallyfinalized their divorcein September 2024.

“People have tried to question the timeline. The truth is, Ariana and Ethan didn’t begin seeing each other until after both parties were separated, respectfully," a source told PEOPLE in September 2023.

Here’s everything to know about Ariana Grande’s boyfriend.

He stars opposite Ariana Grande inWicked

Michelle Yeoh/Instagram

Slater was first confirmed to starin theWickedmovie in December 2022, almost a year after Grande’s casting was announced. Grande plays Glinda opposite Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba, and Slater plays Boq, whose character has a crush on Glinda but eventually becomes the romantic interest of Elphaba’s younger sister Nessarose.

In December 2022,Chu confirmed that filming had begunin the U.K., which is presumably when Grande and Slater first met.

Though Grande and Slater have kept their relationship private, he did praise his girlfriend’s talent in an October 2024 interview withGQ, calling her “a comedian who’s also got this crazy voice that can do anything.”

The couple was spotted together on the red carpet at theLos Angeles premiere ofWickedin November 2024, where a photo captured the moment that Grande reached out to straighten Slater’s tie.

He’s best known for his role as SpongeBob SquarePants

Jenny Anderson/Getty

Like Grande, Slater has roots on Broadway and connections to Nickelodeon. The actor originated the role of SpongeBob SquarePants in the 2017 Broadway musical of the same name, for which he received a Tony nomination and won a Drama Desk Award.

He went to Vassar College

Ethan Slater.Cindy Ord/Getty

Cindy Ord/Getty

Slaterattended Charles E. Smith Jewish Day Schooland Georgetown Day School beforeattending Vassar Collegein Poughkeepsie, New York. He was a sophomore at the school when he bookedSpongeBob SquarePants;he previously told PEOPLE landing the role “was a stroke of luck,” after meeting the casting director during a theater apprenticeship.

He was married before dating Ariana Grande

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

In November 2018,Slater married his high school sweetheart, Lilly Jay, whom he had been dating since 2012.

Shortly after PEOPLE confirmed that Slater was dating Grande, the actorfiled for divorcefrom Jay on July 26, 2023. “[Ariana’s] the story really. Not a girl’s girl,” Jay told Page Six. “My family is just collateral damage.”

The exes eventuallyreached a divorce settlementin September 2024.

In December 2024, Jay broke her silence on her divorce in an essay she wrote forThe Cut, admitting that she’s been working on “accepting thesudden public downfall of my marriage” as she raises their son as a single mom.

“No one gets married thinking they’ll get divorced, in the same way we don’t board a plane expecting to crash,” she wrote. “But I really never thought I would get divorced. Especially not just after giving birth to my first child and especially not in the shadow of my husband’s new relationship with a celebrity.”

He is a dad

While speaking toGQin October 2024, Slater called being a dad “the best thing in the world.” He added that co-parenting with Jay has been “an interesting thing to navigate as a new parent.”

He and Grande attended the 2024 Stanley Cup Final

Elsa/Getty

The couple were spotted atgame one of the Stanley Cup Finalin June 2024. Grande and Slater, who were decked out in Florida Panthers gear, watched the team face off against the Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida.

source: people.com