Since it was first revealed that Ariana Grande was dating her Wicked co-star Ethan Slater, the couple’s romance and questions about the timeline of their relationship quickly overshadowed the project.
With a $145 million budget at stake and years of delays behind them, studio executives at Universal Pictures were “concerned” about the impact their controversial pairing would have on the film’s success.
When Slater joined the production, which began filming in December 2022, he was married to his high school sweetheart, Lilly Jay, and was the first father to his first child, who was born in August of that year.
In the summer of 2023, it was revealed that Ariana had separated from her husband Dalton Gomez and a few days later it was revealed that she was dating Slater, who had not yet publicly announced his separation from his wife.
Grande and Slater’s romance caused a stir among their followers. This was exacerbated when Jay slammed the Thank You, Next singer in a series of disparaging interviews in which he claimed she’s “not a girl’s girl” and accused Grande of seeing her family as nothing more than “collateral damage.” “.
Insiders claimed the couple were ordered to “disappear for six months” in the hope that the backlash would die down before the long-awaited musical hit in theaters on November 22, however, the pair have been unable to resist piling on displays of affection during the movie Wicked. Press tour.
Studio executives were so “concerned” about the impact Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater’s relationship would have on the success of Wicked that they ordered the couple to “disappear for six months.”
Ethan Slater with his ex-wife Lily Jay, to whom he was married when he began filming Wicked in December 2022.
And she’s been using Instagram to hint to her fans that the relationship is serious.
Earlier this week, she shared snaps on Instagram from her trip back to her hometown of Boca Raton, Florida, to see Wicked.
Fans quickly realized that Ethan, who plays munchkin Boq, was in the background of a photo he posed for with fans in the lobby of the Cinemark 20 movie theater.
Ethan also spent time with Ariana’s beloved grandmother, Marjorie Grande, also known as ‘Nonna,’ during the visit.
Ariana made sure to credit her boyfriend as the photographer in the snaps of her hugging her grandmother during the screening.
However, not all of his tributes have been so subtle.
opening up to Entertainment tonight During the premiere of Wicked in Los Angeles, she called Ethan, known for playing SpongeBob SquarePants on Broadway, “adorable.”
“He’s so amazing in this movie, he’s such an amazing person, I’m so happy people are getting to know him.” My heart is very happy,’ he gushed.
Ethan has also taken tentative steps to venture information about the couple’s relationship, admitting GQ that it had been “a really great year” while going through the backlash, that it had been “really difficult.”
“There were a lot of big changes in private life that were actually happening, so it’s very difficult to see people who know nothing about what’s happening commenting and speculating about it, and then getting the wrong things about the people you love.” said.
“But of course it was an incredible year and a really beautiful thing, and I’m very excited.” “I am very, very proud of Ari and the work he has done on this.”
“When news of the relationship broke, studio executives were extremely concerned about how it would affect the film,” a source told DailyMail.com. “They were feeling the pressure and Ariana and Ethan were instructed to disappear for six months, which they did.”
Ariana Grande celebrated her starring role in Wicked by sharing behind-the-scenes photos in her hometown, and fans noticed that he was in the pictures too.
Ariana took to her Instagram Story to share a second snap of herself looking alongside her grandmother and brother, writing “photo by @ethanslater :).”
The co-stars met in December 2022 on the British set of the film adaptation of the Broadway hit, in which Grande, 31, plays Glinda, the good witch, alongside Slater, 32, as munchkin Boq .
At the time, Grande was still married to Dalton Gomez. She filed for divorce in September 2023 and listed the date of separation as February 20, 2023.
The singer announced her separation from Gomez just three days before confirming her new relationship with Slater.
Meanwhile, Slater was married to his high school sweetheart, Lilly Jay, when he joined the production.
The actor, who welcomed his first child with Jay in 2022, filed for divorce in July 2023, five years after getting married.
He cited irreconcilable differences and asked for joint custody of their son. The couple finally finalized their divorce in September 2023.
A source close to Ariana and Ethan claimed that the singer “went out” with Lilly and their newborn baby several times before her romance with her co-star was revealed, and reportedly even told those around her how much she “wanted a baby someday” later. bonding with Lilly and Ethan’s son.
A source told DailyMail.com: ‘When news of the relationship first broke, studio executives were extremely worried about how it would affect the film. They were feeling the heat.’
The source highlighted the fact that Grande and Slater remain keen to avoid having a detrimental impact on the film’s success (pictured with their co-stars in Sydney).
The source added: “Ariana was terrified that her personal actions would cause this movie to fail.”
Their relationship largely remained out of the spotlight until the film’s premiere in Sydney last week, and Grande shared a photo of them on Instagram (pictured).
After months of ‘homewrecker’ accusations, Ariana responded in her January 2024 song Yes, and?, which includes the lyrics: ‘Your business is yours and mine is mine/ Why do you care so much about who I am?’ ?’
A source close to Lilly, 29, harshly criticized the singer for her “disrespectful” attitude and accused her of a total lack of “empathy.”
Following the steady stream of negative headlines, Grande and Slater shied away from the spotlight, making only a handful of public appearances, including their opening night performance in the Broadway show Spamalot.
“Ariana and Ethan are professionals and know not to bring their personal relationship to promotional events,” the source said.
‘Ariana was terrified that her personal actions would cause this movie to fail. “They are both divorced and people have moved on from this.”
Although Slater only broke his year-long silence about their romance last month, the cast has come together to support their co-stars.
“Everyone knows they are in a serious relationship,” the source continued. “Everyone has been instructed not to discuss this with anyone, and everyone is aware that they will not answer questions about it.”