Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater—who met while filming Wicked—reportedly ended their relationship earlier in 2026. Neither has commented publicly on the split, but the timeline surrounding Wicked, their prior marriages, and a later portrait of Ethan’s divorce sh
Ariana Grande is now on the move with her world tour, and fans can’t help but circle back to the same question: what broke apart the romance that once felt straight out of a casting call.
Ariana and Ethan Slater reportedly called it quits sometime earlier this year, even as their connection began in the most public way possible—on the set of Wicked. The story first caught major attention in July 2023, the same month that Ethan filed for divorce from his ex-wife, Lilly Jay.
Their relationship didn’t come with a clear public explanation. Neither Ariana nor Ethan has addressed the breakup directly. Still, details that surfaced later suggest it wasn’t dramatic in the usual sense. In June 2026. a source said their split was “amicable. ” with the two “given lots of time and careful consideration” before deciding “to go their separate ways.” The same account added that they “are still friends and very supportive of one another. ” and that they’d been “quietly broken up for several months.”.
Ariana’s tour presence has only sharpened curiosity. Ethan, for his part, has offered a small kind of acknowledgement—quietly “liking” one of Ariana’s Instagram posts during her Eternal Sunshine Tour.
What fans can pinpoint is the way their relationship began. News of their romance surfaced in July 2023, but they had met earlier—when filming Wicked started in December 2022.
The breakup story sits inside a wider tangle of separation and distance. Ariana had already split from her ex-husband, Dalton Gomez, earlier that year, after two years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences. Some outlets also reported that the pair had been struggling with long-distance after Ariana went to England to begin shooting Wicked.
Ethan’s divorce, meanwhile, was already in motion before the public became fully aware of his relationship with Ariana. He filed for divorce from Lilly Jay in July 2023. Ethan and Lilly didn’t cite an exact reason for their divorce. but Lilly later described the emotional toll in a candid 2024 essay published via The Cut.
In that essay. Lilly—who is a licensed clinical psychologist—wrote. “I really never thought I would get divorced. ” adding that she didn’t expect it “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.” She described being “consumed by the magic and mundanity of new motherhood. ” and said she “didn’t understand the growing distance between” her and Ethan.
She also explained her perspective: “As a perinatal psychologist. I knew all the statistics — how vulnerable a marriage is in the postpartum period. how vital community connection is in preventing depression and anxiety. how new parenthood impacts a whole family.” She continued that she still “confidently moved to another country with my 2-month-old baby and my husband to support his career.”.
Even with the heartbreak, Lilly emphasized that she and Ethan still aligned on their most important job—parenting. “While our partnership has changed, our parenthood has not,” she concluded. “Both of us fiercely love our son 100 percent of the time, regardless of how our parenting time is divided.”
The thread connecting these facts is hard to miss: their romance drew public attention in July 2023. during a month when Ethan’s divorce filing from Lilly Jay was already underway. while Ariana had recently ended her marriage to Dalton Gomez after two years. By June 2026. when their breakup is described as amicable and carefully considered. the earlier accounts from both Ariana’s separation and Lilly’s essay show how much postpartum vulnerability. distance. and life changes were part of the background—before any of it became a headline.
For now. the center of the story remains the same—no public statement from Ariana or Ethan about why it ended. But the timing. the prior relationships. and Lilly Jay’s words about motherhood and separation give fans a clearer picture of the pressures that can build in plain sight. even when two people start with the best possible reason to believe in something new.
Ariana Grande Ethan Slater Wicked breakup Eternal Sunshine Tour Dalton Gomez Lilly Jay divorce July 2023 June 2026