Few celebrity love stories get retold as often as this one, and the versions rarely agree on dates. Ethan Slater and Ariana Grande were both cast in Wicked, which began filming in July 2023, and this piece separates what is confirmed from what rests on anonymous sourcing (TODAY (US broadcast news site)).
Wicked role: Boq (Harper’s Bazaar (fashion magazine)) ·
First public report: July 20, 2023 (InStyle (fashion magazine)) ·
Breakup report: June 8, 2026 (People (US celebrity magazine))
Quick snapshot
- Slater was cast as Boq and Grande as Glinda in Wicked (Harper’s Bazaar (fashion magazine)). (Vogue (fashion and culture magazine))
- Slater’s casting was announced in December 2022, the same day filming was confirmed to have begun (Harper’s Bazaar (fashion magazine)). (Vogue (fashion and culture magazine))
- Grande’s album Eternal Sunshine was released on March 8, 2024 (Vogue (fashion and culture magazine)).
- The start date of the relationship, since reporting relies largely on anonymous sources (Teen Vogue (youth culture magazine)).
- The first Disney World outing: September 22, 2023 in Vogue’s account, September 25 or 26 in other outlets (Vogue (fashion and culture magazine)). (Teen Vogue (youth culture magazine))
- The Instagram-official date: April 18, 2024 per Cosmopolitan UK (Cosmopolitan UK (UK women’s magazine)), against a November 2024 date that Mercury News reportedly attributes to People (Mercury News (California newspaper)).
- July 20, 2023: first public report that the two were dating (InStyle (fashion magazine)).
- July 26, 2023: Slater filed for divorce from Lilly Jay in New York (InStyle (fashion magazine)).
- June 8, 2026: People reported that the couple split several months earlier (People (US celebrity magazine)).
- Neither Grande nor Slater has publicly confirmed the breakup details in the reporting reviewed (Teen Vogue (youth culture magazine)).
- Named statements from either star are the missing piece, and the June 8, 2026 People report remains the reference point until one appears (People (US celebrity magazine)).
Six dated entries anchor this story, and every one traces to an entertainment outlet rather than a court filing or official statement, so each date carries only the weight of its reporter.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Wicked role | Boq for Slater, Glinda for Grande (Harper’s Bazaar (fashion magazine)) |
| Wicked filming start | December 2022 (TODAY (US broadcast news site)) |
| First public report of the relationship | July 20, 2023 (InStyle (fashion magazine)) |
| Slater’s divorce filing from Lilly Jay | July 26, 2023, New York (InStyle (fashion magazine)) |
| Reported living together in New York | October 4, 2023 (Us Weekly (US celebrity magazine)) |
| Eternal Sunshine release | March 8, 2024 (Vogue (fashion and culture magazine)) |
| Breakup report | June 8, 2026 (People (US celebrity magazine)) |
What happened between Ethan Slater and Ariana?
The public record opens with a casting announcement in December 2022 and builds through dated reports. The first confirmation of a romance came in July 2023, when sources confirmed to People that the two were dating (TODAY (US broadcast news site)).
When did their relationship become public?
- December 2022: Filming of Wicked begins, with Slater cast as Boq and Grande as Glinda (Harper’s Bazaar (fashion magazine)).
- March 27, 2023: Michelle Yeoh shares Instagram photos of Grande and Slater together from her Oscars party (TODAY (US broadcast news site)).
- July 20, 2023: First public report that Grande and Slater are dating (InStyle (fashion magazine)).
- September 22, 2023: The pair are first seen in public as a couple, walking at Disney World. Vogue dates the outing to September 22, while other outlets say September 25 or 26 (Vogue (fashion and culture magazine)).
- October 4, 2023: Us Weekly reports that Slater is living with Grande full-time in New York (Us Weekly (US celebrity magazine)).
The start date is the weak point. A source cited by People says Grande and Gomez separated in January 2023, yet that split was not publicly reported until July 2023 (Glamour (women’s lifestyle magazine)).
What have Ethan Slater and Ariana Grande each said publicly?
- Grande defended the relationship in a Vanity Fair interview published September 30, 2024 (TODAY (US broadcast news site)).
- Slater discussed Grande in a GQ interview published October 30, 2024 (Town & Country (luxury lifestyle magazine)).
“The most disappointing part was to see so many people believe the worst version of it.”
Ariana Grande, Vanity Fair, September 30, 2024 (TODAY (US broadcast news site))
“Ari’s Ari, and she’s amazing.”
Ethan Slater, GQ, October 30, 2024 (Town & Country (luxury lifestyle magazine))
Is Ariana still together with Ethan Slater?
The most recent dated report describes a split, not a current couple. People published that account on June 8, 2026 (People (US celebrity magazine)).
What do current news sources report about their status?
- People cites an anonymous source who says the couple split several months earlier and remain friends (People (US celebrity magazine)).
- That source described the split as “amicable” and said the pair had “been quietly broken up for several months” (People (US celebrity magazine)).
- Newser reportedly repeated the People account on June 9, 2026 (Newser (news aggregator)).
- The reports came days after Grande began her Eternal Sunshine Tour (InStyle (fashion magazine)).
Which parts of the current status remain unconfirmed?
- Neither Grande nor Slater has publicly confirmed the breakup date or details in the reporting reviewed (Teen Vogue (youth culture magazine)).
- The relationship’s length, put at nearly three years by People, rests on the same anonymous-source reporting (People (US celebrity magazine)).
Current status rests on one anonymous-sourced report that other outlets repeat, and repetition is not confirmation. A named statement from Grande or Slater would turn a sourced split into a confirmed one.
The catch: the status question is answered by a source’s account, so any reader who needs certainty has to wait for an on-record statement.
Did Ethan Slater leave his wife for Ariana Grande?
The record supports a divorce filing and a sequence of dated reports, but not a confirmed account of who left whom. The phrase “left his wife for” carries a claim about motive and timing, and the sources reviewed do not confirm it.
What is publicly known about Ethan Slater’s marriage?
- Slater was married to Lilly Jay when filming of Wicked began in December 2022 (Vogue (fashion and culture magazine)).
- Slater filed for divorce from Jay in New York on July 26, 2023, according to TMZ (InStyle (fashion magazine)).
- The Daily Mail reported on August 3, 2023 that the couple had been seen kissing before Slater’s separation, a claim that a source close to the couple disputes (Glamour (women’s lifestyle magazine)).
What has not been confirmed about the separation?
- The sources reviewed do not confirm a date on which Slater’s separation began (Teen Vogue (youth culture magazine)).
- Whether the separation came before the relationship, as the Daily Mail’s kissing claim implies, is disputed rather than established (Glamour (women’s lifestyle magazine)).
- The claim that Slater left his wife for Grande remains a claim, because the reporting reviewed contains no statement from Slater that explains the divorce.
The divorce filing is the firmest date in this story, and it came six days after the first public report of the relationship. Read the filing as a fact and the “left for” framing as a claim.
The implication: on paper the sequence looks tight, but the reporting never settles whether the marriage ended because of the relationship or alongside it.
What did Ethan’s ex-wife say about Ariana?
Lilly Jay’s remarks are the closest thing this story has to a named voice from the marriage. They reached readers through Page Six and were carried by Vogue (Vogue (fashion and culture magazine)).
Where was the statement published?
- Jay told Page Six the day after Slater’s divorce filing, which places the remarks on July 27, 2023 (Vogue (fashion and culture magazine)).
- Vogue carries the remarks, so the original Page Six wording reaches readers through a second outlet (Vogue (fashion and culture magazine)).
What context surrounds the statement?
- The remarks came after Slater’s filing and after the first public report of the relationship in July 2023 (InStyle (fashion magazine)).
- Jay described Grande as “not a girl’s girl” and said her family was “collateral damage” (Vogue (fashion and culture magazine)).
- Us Weekly separately reported that Slater had told his soon-to-be ex-wife he was living with Grande, which places the end of the marriage in the same months as the public relationship (Us Weekly (US celebrity magazine)).
What this means: Jay’s words are secondhand and emotionally direct, so they show how the divorce was received, not what happened inside the marriage.
Did Ethan Slater have a baby?
No named source in the material reviewed confirms that Slater has a child. That absence is a finding in its own right, and it is not a gap to fill with rumor, because family claims are the ones most likely to outrun the evidence.
What public record exists about his children?
- The reporting reviewed names no child of Slater’s, across his December 2022 casting, his July 2023 divorce filing and his 2024 public comments.
- The dated legal record in the material reviewed is the divorce filing of July 26, 2023 (InStyle (fashion magazine)).
Where do sources disagree on family details?
- The family details that do appear concern Jay’s relatives, not Slater’s children, as Jay describes her family as “collateral damage” (Popsugar (celebrity lifestyle site)).
- A source cited by People dates Grande’s separation from Gomez to January 2023, a date that neither star has confirmed on the record (Glamour (women’s lifestyle magazine)).
Claims about children carry the most personal weight in this story, so they need the strongest proof. The bar is a named, dated confirmation, and none appears in the sources reviewed.
Confirmed facts
- Wicked filming began in December 2022 (TODAY (US broadcast news site)).
- Slater filed for divorce from Lilly Jay on July 26, 2023 (InStyle (fashion magazine)).
- The first public report that the couple were dating is dated July 20, 2023 (InStyle (fashion magazine)).
- Grande’s album Eternal Sunshine was released on March 8, 2024 (Vogue (fashion and culture magazine)).
What’s unclear
- The start date of the relationship (Teen Vogue (youth culture magazine)).
- Whether Slater left his wife for Grande (Glamour (women’s lifestyle magazine)).
- Whether either star has confirmed the breakup on the record (Teen Vogue (youth culture magazine)).
- Grande and Gomez’s January 2023 separation (Glamour (women’s lifestyle magazine)).
- Whether Slater has a child (Teen Vogue (youth culture magazine)).
- The Disney World outing date, September 22 or 25 to 26, 2023 (Vogue (fashion and culture magazine)).
- The Instagram-official date, April 18, 2024 or November 2024 (Cosmopolitan UK (UK women’s magazine)).
The catch: the confirmed column is short because the biggest claims run through anonymous sourcing, which leaves the record thinnest where readers want certainty most.
The dated record is firm on the first public report, the divorce filing and the breakup report, yet nothing on the record ties the split to a statement from either star. For readers and editors repeating this story, the choice is clear: cite the July 26, 2023 divorce filing and the June 8, 2026 breakup report as sourced events (People (US celebrity magazine)), or present any account of why the couple split as a claim until Grande or Slater speaks for themselves.
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Frequently asked questions
Who is Ethan Slater?
Ethan Slater is an actor whose role in the reporting reviewed is Boq in Wicked (Harper’s Bazaar (fashion magazine)).
Does Ethan Slater have film or TV credits beyond Wicked?
The sources reviewed confirm his role in Wicked and list no other film or TV credits, so this article does not list any (Harper’s Bazaar (fashion magazine)).
Who was Lilly Jay?
Lilly Jay was Slater’s wife when filming of Wicked began in December 2022. Slater filed for divorce from her on July 26, 2023 (InStyle (fashion magazine)).
Has either star confirmed the breakup?
Not in the reporting reviewed. Teen Vogue notes that reporting on the timing and details relies largely on anonymous sources (Teen Vogue (youth culture magazine)).
When did the couple split?
People, citing an anonymous source, says the split happened several months before its June 8, 2026 report (People (US celebrity magazine)).
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Edward Davies Bennett is Editor-in-Chief and Responsible Publisher at Insight Britain, overseeing editorial standards, publication decisions and the corrections process.