Ariana Grande has been making plenty of headlines as of late, and it’s not because of her music. The acclaimed songstress has been at the center of various rumors since it was reported that she’d engaged in an affair with actor Ethan Slater, her fellow Wicked cast member. Insiders have dropped a plethora of alleged details regarding how Grande and Slater’s reported relationship came to be. Now, as the public seeks more clarity about the situation, a source dropped a significant claim about the pair. They say that the two stars reportedly double dated alongside their respective spouses amid the purported affair.
That assertion comes from an insider who spoke to Daily Mail about the romance between the co-stars. The unnamed person, more specifically, says the couple allegedly went on “multiple double dates” with their spouses in tow while they were seeing each other. This assertion arrives as videos and images of the Wicked stars begin to surface. Those materials seem to have been captured months before the reported affair came to light. Per this source, the actors became close while working on the John Chu-directed musical in the UK.
While speaking to the news outlet, said insider also echoed a previously made claim, which alleged that Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater had been “sloppy” when it came to keeping their romance under wraps. The person even named a couple of specific instances in which they purportedly packed on PDA:
They were sloppy on set. They were seen being all over each other while he was still supposedly happily married to Lilly. They were seen making out at a pub in Hampstead, and they were all over each other at Michelle Yeoh's Oscar party [in March].
Since May 2021, the 30-year-old “7 Rings” singer has been married to 27-year-old real estate broker Dalton Gomez, who she began dating in early 2020. The couple celebrated their two-year anniversary earlier this year, and the Grammy winner marked the occasion with a tribute to Gomez on Instagram. In July, however, speculation began to ramp up after the former Nickelodeon star was spotted without her wedding ring while at Wimbledon. Shortly after, it was reported that she and Gomez were heading towards divorce, after having separated months earlier. Per reports, Gomez tried to make the marriage work, but his wife had moved on.
31-year-old Ethan Slater married high school sweetheart Lilly Jay, and they share an 11-month-old son. Jay broke her silence on the affair at the end of July and, while her comments were brief, she didn’t mince words. She opined that the “Thank U, Next” singer is “the story” at the center of the controversy and that “my family is just collateral damage.” Slater is reportedly trying to sort out the situation with his estranged wife, while his alleged girlfriend is said to be giving him the space to do so.
The general public can’t say for sure just what lies ahead for Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater’s relationship. What is known is that they’ll eventually have to reunite to work on the two-part Wicked adaptation, which had to halt filming due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. Grande plays Glinda, while Slater plays her character’s love interest – the Munchkin-turned-Tin Man Boq. We’ll have to wait for official updates on the production and all the while, see if further rumors like the double date tidbit arise while Slater and Grande’s relationship persists.
Wicked: Part One opens in theaters on November 27 as part of the 2024 movie schedule, with the second installment hitting cinemas on November 26, 2025.
