Thank U, Next, indeed. It was just a few days ago that news broke of the end of Ariana Grande’s relationship with Dalton Gomez. The two, who were married for two years, had been the subject of breakup rumors for months, which were bolstered over the weekend, when she was pictured at Wimbledon without her wedding ring. However, it seems she’s already dating someone else, as new reports have connected the “7 Rings” singer to her Wicked co-star Ethan Slater.
TMZ reports that the former coach of The Voice recently started dating Ethan Slater, who is playing Boq in the Broadway musical adaptation due out late next year. The two were photographed together back in March, as Ariana Grande sat next to Slater when the Wicked cast celebrated Michelle Yeoh’s Academy Award win in London, but it's unclear when the couple officially started dating.
This may seem fast, as news of Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez’s breakup was only just reported; however, the sources allege that the couple has been over since January, and that Gomez has also begun dating again. Divorce documents have reportedly not yet been filed but are forthcoming. The exes have apparently remained friendly.
News of the breakup and new relationship would seem to confirm the rumors that circulated about Ariana Grande’s marriage earlier this year, when she appeared without her wedding band several times, and Dalton Gomez deleted his Instagram account altogether. The couple did reportedly try to reconcile a few months ago — perhaps around the time that Grande posted a sweet tribute to her husband on their anniversary — but those efforts were unsuccessful.
Ethan Slater, for his part, is also recently single, according to reports. He has reportedly separated from singer Lilly Jay, who he had been married to since 2018. Prior to their breakup, the couple welcomed a son together in 2022. The actor — who was nominated for a Tony Award in 2018 for his performance in the title role of Spongebob Squarepants on Broadway — did not begin dating Ariana Grande until after he split from his wife, sources say.
It’s unknown how much distance played into the end of the two-time Grammy winner’s marriage, but it likely hasn’t helped that she’s been filming Wicked in the U.K. while Dalton Gomez, presumably, remained in the United States. When Ariana Grande was seen without her ring at Wimbledon, she was accompanied by neither her estranged husband nor Ethan Slater, as she took in the Men’s Singles final alongside tick, tick… BOOM!’s Andrew Garfield and her fellow Wicked cast member Jonathan Bailey.
None of the parties involved have spoken publicly about the status of their relationships, so we'll have to see if anybody releases anything official on the matter. Meanwhile, we've still got quite a bit of a wait ahead of us before we get to see Ariana Grande’s portrayal of Glinda, with Wicked coming to theaters in 2024. For now, you check out our 2023 Movie Calendar to see what else is hitting the big screen.
