Ariana Grande shocked fans when it was reported earlier today that she has already left her ex-husband Dalton Gomez with none other than her Wicked co-star Ethan Slater.
But while the 30-year-old’s romantic history has been closely watched, less is known about her rumored new boyfriend’s former partner: his wife of five years, Lilly Jay.
The actor married his high school sweetheart in 2018 and reportedly began their relationship in their teens when they were studying together in Maryland.
Ethan and Lilly welcomed their first child together in August 2022 and the actor has since praised his ex-partner’s parenting skills.
Indeed, to the outside observer, the former couple’s marriage seemed rock-solid, with Ethan, 31, describing Lilly as the “most loving and wonderful mum” in a gushing Instagram post just two months before news of his affair with Ariana broke.
But what else is known about Lilly Jay? And what happened to her marriage to Ethan?
Before Ethan became the latest item with the 7 Rings singer, he was married to his high school sweetheart, Lilly Jay.
The former lovebirds also just had their first child a year ago, and the new dad raved about Lilly’s first Mother’s Day just two months ago.
The exes were high school sweethearts for 10 years.
Who is Lilly Jay and what does she do?
Lilly Jay has been a psychology lab assistant and clinical psychology extern at a lab in Menorah Park since 2017.
She is also the photo editor at Girls Leadership, where the focus is on girls in kindergarten through grade 12 and helping them find their voice through active leadership.
Lilly is proudly an advocate for sexual assault who gave a speech at the White House in September 2014.
She spoke vulnerablely about her own traumatic experience before introducing Vice President Joe Biden.
He helped launch the It’s On Us initiative which raises awareness about sexual assault and encourages bystanders to intervene.
Lilly also met President Barack Obama during his visit to the White House.
In her courageous speech, she recalled that she led a disciplinary complaint against her abuser during her time as a freshman at Amherst College.
Her mother and father were present in person for the speech, and her brother and Ethan were watching it via live stream on C-SPAN.
Lilly is a proud advocate against sexual assault having delivered a speech at the White House in September 2014.
She met President Barack Obama and helped launch the It’s On Us initiative that raises awareness about sexual assault and encourages bystanders to intervene.
She transparently said: ‘When non-survivors step up and say, “I don’t need to be hurt to worry about assault,” they give survivors permission to move our hearts from the edge of our sleeves back to where they belong.
‘Hearing my friends, family, and teachers say, “You don’t have to be hurt any longer to convince us to care,” set me free. That’s when I got my college experience back.
Allies do more than prevent future attacks; They help convey the hard truth that colleges aren’t safe, but they can and should be.
Only non-survivors can guarantee that, when we look back, we can say that compassion, not trauma, changed the world.”
Lilly was also a parent advocate for The Bronx Defenders in 2013.
She was a college student at Amherst College and during her time there, she was a Health Leads Summer Scholar in 2012.
How did Ethan Slater and Lilly Jay meet?
Ethan met Lilly in 2012 when they were students at the High School for the Performing Arts and he was 13 years old. High school sweethearts got married in 2018
The new parents just had a child last year. Pictured is her son’s adorable jumpsuit that has a Wicked reference.
In May, Ethan posted a tribute to Lilly for her first Mother’s Day, writing, “Happy first Mother’s Day to the most loving and wonderful mom/person in the world.”
Ethan met Lilly in 2012 when they were students at the High School for the Performing Arts and he was 13 years old. The high school sweethearts tied the knot in 2018.
Last year they had a baby. While filming Wicked in May, Ethan paid tribute online to Lilly for her first Mother’s Day.
He wrote: ‘Happy first Mother’s Day to the most loving and wonderful mother/person in the world, from me and this little one. [son].’
In November, she gave Lilly another sweet shout out on social media, writing: “My best friend. Four years married, 10 years together.’
She has been his red carpet escort many times, including during one of his biggest red carpets, the 2018 Tony Awards.
That year, he was nominated for Best Actor in a Musical for SpongeBob SquarePants.
The two met while filming on the set of Wicked in England. Ariana plays the character of Glinda, and Ethan plays Boq.
Both Ariana and Ethan deny that they started dating before ending their previous relationships.
How did Ethan Slater meet Ariana Grande?
The two met while filming on the set of Wicked in England. Ariana plays the character of Glinda and Ethan plays Boq.
Ariana split from her husband of two years and high-end real estate agent, Dalton Gomez, 26, a few days ago.
Sources claim that Ariana and Ethan deny that they started dating before ending their previous relationships.
They were first romantically linked on July 20.
