Ethan Slater and Ariana Grande are “relieved” that Slater’s ex-wife Lilly Jay kept her cool in an emotional essay she wrote about her divorce from the Wicked actor.
On Thursday, Jay broke her silence about the end of her marriage to Slater, which led to him finding love with his Wicked co-star Grande.
“They are relieved that Lilly hasn’t thrown them under the bus,” a source told DailyMail.com.
“Ethan and Ariana are fully aware of what happened, as are everyone who was there at the time. (Lilly) has made it clear that she has moved to London with him and the timeline from then on speaks for itself,” they continued.
“Filming was still going on when they were first seen intimately in photos and Lilly was no longer there, so people can put two and two together – Lilly didn’t have to do that.”
The source explained that while the former couple’s divorce agreement “restricted (Jay) from disclosing certain details about the events that occurred” surrounding their divorce, it did not stop Jay from “expressing her emotions surrounding the ordeal.”
‘During the legal proceedings, Lilly was effectively silenced and unable to speak freely. Despite the circumstances, she emerged from the divorce a winner,” they said.
The insider said the psychologist “showed dignity” by not discussing “the affair” publicly.
Ethan Slater and Ariana Grande are ‘relieved’ that Slater’s ex-wife Lilly Jay kept her cool in an emotional essay she wrote about her divorce from the Wicked actor
“Lilly was effectively silenced and could not speak freely. Despite the circumstances, she came out of the divorce a winner,” the source said
“She knows her son will read about it online one day and she wanted him to read that her first and only words about it were done in a respectful and classy way,” they explained.
They also claimed that Jay took a swipe at her ex-husband in the essay.
“The ‘sponge’ analogy was a subtle jab at the situation, but now that her story is out, she feels liberated,” they said.
‘Although she was approached by almost all media, Lilly did not want to give an interview until she was ready. She wanted to control her own narrative and tell her story on her terms. And that’s exactly what she did.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to representatives for Jay, Grande and Slater for comment.
In an essay for The cutpublished Thursday, the clinical psychologist, who shares a two-year-old son with Slater, reflected on navigating life as a single mother and the end of her more than decade-long relationship.
“I’ve learned that motherhood fills your time, but not your mind,” she wrote.
“In the countless hours I spend rocking my son to sleep, pushing his stroller, and admiring his sweaty hands clutching a crayon, I work diligently on my private project: coming to terms with the sudden public demise of my wedding.’
Slater, 32, started dating Grande, 31, following his split from Jay (pictured together last month)
“Ethan and Ariana are fully aware of what happened, as are everyone who was there at the time,” a source told DailyMail.com
In her essay, Jay noted that she didn’t prepare for divorce right after the birth of her first child, while her husband moved on “with a celebrity” (Slater pictured in November with Grande)
She continued, “This, I tell myself, is nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to hide.”
Jay also reflected on the fact that no one “gets married thinking they’re going to get divorced, just like we don’t board a plane expecting it to crash.”
‘But I never actually thought I would get a divorce. Especially not right after the birth of my first child and especially not in the shadow of my husband’s new relationship with a celebrity,” Jay noted, referring to his relationship with Grande.
Despite their divorce, she still praised Slater for being a great co-parent, as she stated that while their “partnership has changed,” their “parenting has not.”
Jay explained that although “people from (her) past have reached out to say they saw my face in a tabloid,” her “patients have kept quiet about it.”
“At Children’s Hospital, my invisibility was a welcome protection from hard conversations for me and my patients,” she said.
At her lowest, she said she “feared that loss of control and postpartum depression would destroy her for her entire adult life.”
Additionally, Jay noted that her career has seemingly been affected by her and Slater’s public fallout.
Jay and Slater officially finalized their divorce in September after splitting last year; Slater pictured with Lilly
Admittedly, this has left her talking angrily on “dark days” about “the unfairness of a public divorce.”
“Slowly but surely, I have come to believe that in the absence of the life I had planned with my high school sweetheart, there is a life full of love waiting for me and my child,” she told readers.
She also recalled seeing Slater and Grande in London, and shared how she coped.
‘One day in London I looked up and found that they had both arrived. And I’m doing well. “If I can’t be invisible anymore, I might as well introduce myself,” she said.
‘You know how a sponge absorbs liquid most effectively when it’s already slightly wet? Maybe we can think about my messy, not-so-personal life in that way: a dose of my own loss, anger, powerlessness, sadness that helps me hold on to yours.’
Jay and Slater officially finalized their divorce in September after splitting last year.
Slater filed for divorce on July 26, 2023, five years after he tied the knot with Jay, whom he started dating when they were both teenagers.
Grande was still married to Dalton Gomez at the time; she filed for divorce in September 2023 and listed the date of separation as February 20, 2023.
Grande’s divorce was settled in October 2023, with the artist making a single payment of $1,250,000 to Gomez in lieu of spousal support.
She also paid $25,000 in attorney fees for the real estate agent.
Grande and Slater met in December 2022 on the British set of the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked, in which Ariana plays Glinda – the good witch – alongside Ethan as munchkin Boq.
Both parties announced within days of each other that they had separated from their spouses.
In October, Slater addressed the reactions to his and Grande’s relationship amid rumors of infidelity
Grande announced her divorce from Gomez just three days before confirming her new relationship with Ethan, who then filed for divorce from Lilly.
He cited irreconcilable differences and asked for joint custody of their two-year-old son.
Jay later blasted Grande in a series of disparaging interviews, telling Page Six that the music artist is “not a girly girl” and adding that “my family is just collateral damage to her.”
In October, Slater addressed the reactions to his and Grande’s relationship amid rumors of infidelity.
“I think it was very difficult to have things in your private life commented on and seen by the public,” he told GQ.
He continued, “There were a lot of big changes in private lives that were actually happening, so it’s really hard for people who don’t know anything about what’s happening to comment on that.”
Last month, Grande insisted that “there could be no less accurate portrayal of a human being than the one the tabloids spread about him (Slater).”
“No one on this earth goes out of their way or goes out of their way to be there for the people they love and care about,” she told Vanity Fair.