Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater fell in love on the set of Wicked, but their romance wasn’t exactly a fairytale. You see, Slater left his wife Lilly Jay and infant son Ezra around the time he started seeing Grande, who was also married to Dalton Gomez when filming started. The timing was suss and the tabloids had a field day.
According to Daily Mail, Universal execs were “worried” that their love affair scandal would overshadow Wicked’s success. The movie-musical is a two-part bonanza, with the first film reportedly costing $145 million USD (approximately $220 million AUD) to make.
As a result of the hefty price tag, industry insiders claim the new couple were told to “disappear for six months” so any backlash about their relationship could fade away and not cause the film to flop.
“When news of the relationship first broke, studio execs were extremely worried about how it would impact the film,” a source said. “They were feeling the heat and Ariana and Ethan were instructed to disappear for six months, which they did.
“Ariana was terrified that her personal actions would cause this film to bomb. They are both divorced and people have moved on from this.”
The couple kept their relationship under wraps for a while, but I guess somebody forgot to tell Slater’s now ex-wife. Jay famously told Page Six that Grande wasn’t “a girl’s girl” and declared that her family was “just collateral damage”.
Grande did support Slater at the opening of his Broadway show Spamalot, and seemingly referenced her relationship with him on her album Eternal Sunshine.
“Ariana and Ethan are professionals and know better than to bring their personal relationship to promotional events,” the insider explained.
The couple haven’t been hiding their relationship while on the Wicked press tour, though they’re not exactly packing on the PDA. There’s little moments where they’ve been holding hands or seen adjusting each other’s outfits, and Grande finally shared the first-ever photo of Slater on her Instagram after the Wicked premiere in Sydney.
Grande called him “adorable” during the LA premiere, and seems to finally be comfortable about talking him up. “He’s so amazing in this film, he’s such an amazing person, I’m so happy people are getting to know him. My heart is very happy,” she told ET.
@pedestriantv Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are the ideal workplace besties 😍 #wicked #wickedmovie #arianagrande #cynthiaerivo ♬ original sound – PEDESTRIAN.TV
However, aside from Grande and Slater alluding to the media storm surrounding their relationship in interviews with Vanity Fair and GQ, it’s not a topic up for discussion as far as their cast mates are concerned.
“Everyone knows that they are in a serious relationship. Everyone was instructed to not discuss this with anyone,” the source claimed.
“They are all well aware that they will answer no questions about this.”
Wicked Part One hits cinemas on 21 November 2024, so we’ll get to see how much of an impact the relationship scandal has. I reckon the movie musical is gonna be so successful that the only thing people will be talking about is Grande’s performance, not her personal life!
Lead image: Getty
The post Wicked Execs Asked Ariana Grande & Ethan Slater To ‘Disappear’ Over Fears The Film Would ‘Bomb’ appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
