Ariana Grande invited fans to go behind the scenes of Wicked, but one cast member was noticeably absent: her boyfriend Ethan Slater.
The omission of Slater, who is nowhere to be seen in the dozen snaps and clips, came just days after his ex-wife Lilly Jay broke her silence about their surprising romance.
Grande’s relationship with Slater made headlines in mid-2023, shortly after her split from Dalton Gomez and Slater’s filing for divorce from his high school girlfriend Jay, with whom he shares a son.
At a rehearsal on Thursday, Jay revealed she moved to London with her two-month-old son while Slater was filming Wicked, only for him to leave her for Grande after they met on set.
Although reports claim that Ariana and Ethan were “relieved” that Jay didn’t completely throw them under the bus in their piece, Ariana seemed to keep her boyfriend out of the spotlight in her light-hearted carousel of mean moments.
The post included snaps with co-stars Cynthia Erivo, Bowen Yang and others, but there was no sign of Slater.
Ariana Grande invited fans to go behind the scenes of Wicked, but one cast member was noticeably absent: her boyfriend Ethan Slater.
The omission of Slater, who is nowhere to be seen in the dozen snaps and clips, came just days after his ex-wife Lilly Jay broke her silence about their surprising romance.
‘One month of @wickedmovie, thank you for your overwhelming love and hug! I love you, we love you,’ Ariana captioned the post.
Meanwhile, Lilly wrote in her essay: “I confidently moved to another country with my two-month-old baby and my husband to support his career.” Consumed by the magic and mundanity of new motherhood, I didn’t understand the growing distance between us.’
She expressed that there are “days when I can’t escape promoting a movie associated with the saddest days of my life, they are darker,” while trying to “come to terms with the sudden public downfall of my marriage.”
“No one gets married thinking they will get divorced, any more than we board a plane expecting to crash,” he wrote.
Lilly then seemingly referenced Ethan and Ariana with, “I really never thought I’d get a divorce.”
“Especially not right after giving birth to my first child and especially not in the shadow of my husband’s new relationship with a celebrity.”
“In this season of shock and mourning, more than a year after the end of my marriage was made public, I deeply miss the life of invisibility I created for myself as a psychologist specializing in women’s mental health.”
Jay then stated that his “partnership has changed” with Ethan, but his “fathering has not” while raising their son.
Although reports claim that Ariana and Ethan were “relieved” that Jay didn’t completely throw them under the bus in their piece, Ariana seemed to keep her boyfriend out of the spotlight in her light-hearted carousel of mean moments.
The post included snaps with co-stars Cynthia Erivo, Bowen Yang and others, but there was no sign of Slater.
A nice BTS with Cynthia and Ariana
‘One month of @wickedmovie, thank you for your overwhelming love and hug! I love you, we love you,’ Ariana wrote in the publication.
“We both love our son fiercely 100 percent of the time, regardless of how our parenting time is divided.”
Lilly opened up even more about motherhood after the divorce, writing: ‘The days with my son are sunny. I have learned that motherhood occupies your time, but not your mind.
“In the countless hours I spend rocking my son to sleep, pushing his stroller, marveling at his sweaty little hands clutching a crayon, I work diligently on my private project of coming to terms with the sudden public collapse of my marriage.”
“This, I tell myself, is nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to hide,” the psychologist continues in the essay.
Jay later got candid with readers about dealing with postpartum depression after welcoming her son and amid the separation.
Lilly said she “feared that loss of control and postpartum depression would destroy her entire adult life.”
She also wrote about how the separation affected her work and reflected on “the injustice of a public divorce.”
“Slowly but surely, I have come to believe that in the absence of the life I planned with my high school sweetheart, a life of sweetness awaits me and my son,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, Lilly wrote in her essay: “I confidently moved to another country with my two-month-old baby and my husband to support his career.” Consumed by the magic and mundanity of new motherhood, I didn’t understand the growing distance between us.’
Ariana ended with a photo of a rainbow.
—Do you know that a sponge is more effective at absorbing liquid when it is already a little damp? she continued. “Maybe we can think of my messy, not-so-personal life that way: a dose of my own loss, rage, helplessness, and sadness to help me sustain yours.”
While pregnant with her son, Jay wrote that she “never felt happier or more aware of how precarious happiness can be.”
Lilly also revealed: ‘I survived preeclampsia, a life-threatening complication of childbirth, and our family was finally complete. Mine is a story of worry in the wrong direction.’
After Lilly’s essay was published, a source told DailyMail.com that both Slater and Grande were “relieved” that she didn’t “throw them under the bus.”
‘Ethan and Ariana are fully aware of what happened, as is everyone who was present at the time. (Lilly) made it clear that she moved to London with him and the timeline from then on speaks for itself.
The source added: “Filming was still underway when they were first seen being intimate in the photos and Lilly was no longer there so people could put two and two together; Lilly didn’t need to do that.”
Jay and Slater’s divorce settlement prevented her from “revealing certain details about the events that occurred” regarding the separation, but she was still able to share “her emotions surrounding the ordeal.”
‘During the court process, Lilly was essentially silenced, unable to speak freely. Despite the circumstances, she emerged as the winner of the divorce,” they said.
“I never really thought I’d get divorced.” “Especially not right after giving birth to my first child and especially in the shadow of my husband’s new relationship with a celebrity,” she apparently wrote of Ethan and Ariana.
Jay then stated that his ‘partnership has changed’ with Ethan, his ‘fatherhood has not’ while raising his son’; seen in 2018
The source went on to share that Jay showed “dignity” by not speaking publicly about “the matter.”
“She knows that one day her son will read about this online and she wanted him to read that her first and only words about this were said in a respectful and elegant way.”
Regarding the ‘sponge’ analogy in the essay, the source claimed that it had been a dig at his ex. Most notably, he played the character of SpongeBob SquarePants on Broadway.
“The ‘sponge’ analogy was a subtle jab at the situation, but now that her story is out, she feels liberated,” they said.
“Although nearly every media outlet approached her, Lilly didn’t want to do an interview until she was ready,” the source said. “He wanted to control his own narrative and tell his story on his own terms. And she did just that.
Following the rehearsal, Ethan was also criticized by fans on social media for his ‘deeply disappointing treatment’ of Lilly.
One written in
Another added: “I didn’t know Lily Jay was a therapist… your article is very well written and Ethan Slater is trash and I hope Ariana wakes up and realizes that a man who leaves his wife postpartum is not a person to always hahaha.” .’
‘Ethan Slater is the worst kind of person. His relationship with Ariana will end within a year, I promise,” one wrote, while one fan wrote that the actor “is a truly horrible person for what he put his ex-wife through.”
“Ethan Slater’s actions are deeply disappointing and disrespectful to his wife, especially after everything she’s been through,” said another.