Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater are still going strong despite delays in his divorce proceedings.
Slater, 31, and his estranged wife, Lilly Jay, are “still in the mediation phase” of both their divorce and custody agreements, a source exclusively reveals in the new issue of Us Weekly, adding, “[Things] haven’t been finalized yet.”
According to the insider, Slater doesn’t want to engage in a messy court battle, during which documents could become unsealed. Instead, he’s looking forward to his future with Grande, 30.
“Ethan and Ariana are living together at her place and are very happy, but he’s eager to get things finalized with the divorce,” the source tells Us. “He wants the option to propose [to Ariana], so he’s doing everything he can to expedite things.”
Slater filed for divorce from Jay, with whom he shares an 18-month-old son, in July 2023. The pair were together for more than a decade and tied the knot in 2018.
Us confirmed Slater and Grande’s relationship the same month he filed for divorce. The twosome connected while working together on the upcoming Wicked movies, and their relationship was uncovered shortly after Grande’s split from husband Dalton Gomez made headlines. A source claimed at the time that there was no overlap in the relationships.
Ariana Grande, Ethan Slater, Lilly Jay. Getty Images(3)
“Ariana and Dalton split in January, and Ethan is separated from his wife,” the insider told Us. “Ariana and Ethan have only recently begun seeing each other but they have a lot of fun together and are enjoying each other’s company.”
Neither Slater nor Grande have addressed their romance, but Jay broke her silence in a July 2023 statement to Page Six. “[Ariana’s] the story really. Not a girl’s girl. My family is just collateral damage,” she claimed. “The story is her and Dalton.”
Ethan Slater and wife Lilly Jay’s relationship spanned more than a decade before they parted ways — and he began seeing Wicked costar Ariana Grande. The Broadway star — who is best known for playing SpongeBob SquarePants in the musical by the same name — found love with Jay in 2012. The twosome proceeded to […]
While they haven’t spoken publicly about their relationship, the couple have been spotted together several times in New York City, with Grande stepping out to support Slater throughout his run in Broadway’s Spamalot. She filed for divorce from Gomez, 28, in September 2023 after two years of marriage, settling the terms one month later.
Despite the drama surrounding their love story, both Grande and Slater are excited for their next chapter. “Things between Ariana and Ethan have grown more serious in the past few months, and they’re pretty much inseparable,” a third insider told Us in January. “Ariana deeply cares for Ethan and absolutely sees a future with him. She’s looking forward to a fresh start in the new year and can’t wait to see how things continue to grow for them.”
For more on the pair’s Wicked romance, watch the video above and pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly — on stands now.