In recent weeks, rumors have been swirling across the yellow brick road on the Wicked set, with reports that Ariana Grande and her co-star Ethan Slater are dating. The news came after the singer was spotted without her wedding ring during a Wimbledon appearance, and the announcement of her divorce from Dalton Gomez. The latest is Slater’s wife, and the mother to their son, has broken her silence on the topic.
After reports came on Wednesday that Ethan Slater is filing for divorce from his wife Lilly Jay Slater -- they were reportedly high school sweethearts and have been married for around five years -- the wife of the Wicked cast member shared these words to Page Six about the situation:
[Ariana’s] the story really. Not a girl’s girl. My family is just collateral damage. The story is her and Dalton.
According to the source, Ethan Slater and Lilly Jay’s split actually occurred a couple of months before the actor began dating Grande. Additionally, it has also been reported that Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez allegedly were separated prior to the Wicked relationship as well, quietly splitting up back in January. Lilly Jay’s comments are vague, but it sounds like she doesn’t want to place attention on herself or her family as the life transition occurs.
Per the interview, Lilly Jay Slater shared she’s focusing on being “a good mom” to her and Ethan Slater’s baby amidst the situation. An unnamed source also told the outlet that she is telling her ex and others she “only cares about protecting their child,” and while she’s “rightfully upset” about the ending of their marriage, Grande and Slater reportedly “didn’t do anything wrong.”
Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez, a luxury real estate broker, got married back in the spring of 2020, a few months after first being seen together. With reports of their split after three years of marriage coming out last week, it was also suggested that the couple plans to legally end their relationship as well.
Universal’s Wicked movies have been filming in London since late 2022 and only had about 10 days left of filming, per composer Stephen Schwartz when the SAG-AFTRA strike paused production earlier this month. In the adaptation of the Broadway musical and novel of the same name, Grande is set to star as Glinda the Good Witch while Slater will play Boq, who is a schoolmate and friend to Glinda and Elphaba, the latter of which Cynthia Erivo is playing, from Munchkinland. The movies are both being directed by Crazy Rich Asians’ filmmaker Jon M. Chu.
The first Wicked movie is among the list of upcoming 2024 movies with a release date of November 27 while the second installment will come out in theaters one year later on November 26, 2025.
