Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater made their romance official following his divorce from Lilly Jay
Ariana Grande has made a startling social media decision following the ex-wife of her partner Ethan Slater writing an explosive first person piece about the downfall of her marriage.
Lilly Jay was the partner of actor Slater for 12 years, and they were married in 2018, before divorcing earlier this year.
Grande met Slater on the set of John M. Chu’s Wicked, within which the 31-year-old star played Glinda the Good, and Slater portrayed munchkin Boq, who is enamoured by Glinda.
In the lead-up to the release for Wicked, it became known that Slater had filed for divorce from his wife and started a relationship with ‘Thank U, Next’ singer Grande.
Jay, who is the mother of Slater’s child and a a clinical psychologist specialising in perinatal mental health and child development, wrote an essay for The Cut which has since gone viral.
Wicked trailer
Credit: Universal Pictures
0 seconds of 3 minutes, 28 secondsVolume 90%
She wrote: “Motherhood, I have learned, fills 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 grasping a crayon, I work diligently on my private project of accepting the sudden public downfall of my marriage.”
“This, I tell myself, is nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to hide.”
She continued: “I really never thought I would get divorced. Especially not just after giving birth to my first child and especially not in the shadow of my husband’s new relationship with a celebrity.”
Seemingly referencing Wicked, she wrote: “Days with my son are sunny. Days when I can’t escape the promotion of a movie associated with the saddest days of my life are darker.”
Grande shared a behind the scenes look of Wicked (Instagram/@arianagrande)
The internet has been set ablaze following the publication of the piece, with many people extending their sympathy to Jay in the wake of Slater’s new relationship.
In an unprecedented move, hours on from the piece hitting the web, Grande uploaded a carousel of photos from her time on the Wicked set – and omitted Slater.
Grande captioned the post: “one month of @wickedmovie thank you for your overwhelming love and embrace ! i love you, we love you.”
Grande’s collection of photos included Wicked co-stars Cynthia Erivo and Bowen Yang, among more.
Grande and Slater are in a relationship (Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
The star limited the ability for the public to comment on the post.
Defending his relationship, Slater told GQ prior to the release of Wicked: “I think there was something that was really difficult about things in your private life being commented on and looked at by the public.
“There were a lot of big changes in private lives that were really happening, so it’s really hard to see people who don’t know anything about what’s happening commenting on it.”Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@arianagrande/Theo Wargo/Getty Images
Topics: Ariana Grande, Celebrity, Social Media, Wicked, Mental Health
Kya Buller
Published 13:23 20 Dec 2024 GMT
Ariana Grande facing backlash over resurfaced post as Ethan Slater’s ex-wife breaks silence
Fans have rushed to social media calling out Grande and Slater following his ex-wife Lilly Jay’s heartbreaking admission
Ariana Grande is facing serious backlash over a resurfaced post as Ethan Slater’s ex-wife, Lilly Jay, has now broken her silence following their split.
Jay made her first public statement since the very public breakdown of her marriage to Slater, who allegedly ‘left her’ for Wicked co-star Grande.
Grande and Slater went public with their romance earlier this summer, just a matter of months are calling it quits with their respective partners.
The ‘Thank U Next’ singer filed for divorce from now-ex-husband Dalton Gomez, while Slater separated from wife Jay, who he’s been romantically involved with since they were teenagers, before wedding in 2018 and welcoming their first child together in 2022.
Both Grande and Slater previously opened up about their new relationship and the rumours of cheating and infidelity which surrounded it.
Slater said in an interview for GQ in September of this year: “I think there was something that was really difficult about things in your private life being commented on and looked at by the public.
“There were a lot of big changes in private lives that were really happening, so it’s really hard to see people who don’t know anything about what’s happening commenting on it.”
Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater have come under fire due to their relationship timeline (Jon Kopaloff/WireImage)
Meanwhile, Grande told Vanity Fair that same month: “The most disappointing part was to see so many people believe the worst version of it.
“There couldn’t be a less accurate depiction of a human being than the one that the tabloids spread about him.”
And, now, in her bombshell article for The Cut, Jay has shared her thoughts on the matter.
She explained: “I really never thought I would get divorced. Especially not just after giving birth to my first child and especially not in the shadow of my husband’s new relationship with a celebrity.”
In the piece, Jay also writes that she hoped her son would serve as a distraction when she was first dealt the brutal blow that Slater had moved on to a ‘celebrity’, careful not to name the singer/actress explicitly.
“Motherhood, I have learned, fills your time but not your mind. In the countless hours I spend rocking my son to sleep, pushing his stroller, marvelling at his sweaty little hands grasping a crayon, I work diligently on my private project of accepting the sudden public downfall of my marriage.
“This, I tell myself, is nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to hide.”
Slater’s ex-wife, Lilly Jay, has opened up about the split (Walter McBride/WireImage)
It didn’t take long for fans to rush to social media sharing their thoughts on the situation and investigating both Slater and Grande’s own social media accounts to find any ‘evidence’ to back up their speculation.
One person shared a screenshot of one of Slater’s wedding photos with Jay, with the caption: “My best friend. 4 years married, 10 years together. And this is easily the best (and most *bizarre*) year yet.”
Amongst the thousands of people who liked the photo was reportedly Grande – something which clearly hasn’t sat well with people online.
While the photo is no longer on Slater’s Instagram account, which only has 73 posts at the time of writing, there is at least one other instance of Grande liking a snap of Jay on Slater’s account.
It was a Mother’s Day photo dump which Slater captioned: “Happy first Mother’s Day to the most loving caring and wonderful mom/person in the world – from me and this little guy.”
(Instagram/@ethanslater)
After making the discovery, one X user penned: “Wow she’s the worst for this.”
“This is heartbreaking,” quipped a second, while a third hit out: “It’s always the ones who tell women ‘you’re such a cute couple!'”
A fourth declared: “If a man leaves his 14 years relationship/marriage for you in general and especially here in this case so quickly… you just can’t take him seriously.”
“I honestly don’t get it lol how can you just swap your friends spouse like that. This is betrayal on another level. They’re no stranger,” chirped another.
And a final X user added: “Almost like things change & friendships can sometimes transition into romance.
“But also, if Ethan decided to leave his gf of 10 yrs, that’s on him NOT Ariana. Ariana was already divorced by then.”
Ariana Grande and boyfriend Ethan Slater slammed after his ex-wife makes heartbreaking admission about marriage
Ethan Slaters ex-wife Lilly Jay has given her side of the story
Lilly Jay, the ex-wife of Ethan Slater who is now in a relationship with his Wicked co-star Ariana Grande, has written an explosive first-person piece about her divorce.
Naturally, it has gone viral on social media and sparked a range of responses.
Jay, who has a two-year-old son with Slater, bared all for The Cut in an article that poses the question: ‘How Does My Divorce Make You Feel?’
The relationship between Slater and Grande has been marred by controversy, with some people believing it began before his previous relationship had ended.
Ariana Grande met her now-boyfriend Ethan Slater on the Wicked set (Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
Slater, who had been together with Jay for 12 years and exchanged vows with her in 2018, told GQ in an interview regarding his relationship with pop star Grande: “I think there was something that was really difficult about things in your private life being commented on and looked at by the public.
“There were a lot of big changes in private lives that were really happening, so it’s really hard to see people who don’t know anything about what’s happening commenting on it.”
Ultimately, the divorce and new relationship has been spoken about in the public sphere without Jay ever giving her side of the story – until now.
In the piece, Jay writes: “Motherhood, I have learned, fills 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 grasping a crayon, I work diligently on my private project of accepting the sudden public downfall of my marriage.”
“This, I tell myself, is nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to hide.
Ethan Slater and Lilly Jay, who share a child together, are now divorced (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
“Slowly but surely, I have come to believe that in the absence of the life I planned with my high-school sweetheart, a lifetime of sweetness is waiting for me and my child.”
In lines which has sent shockwaves around the internet, she wrote: “I really never thought I would get divorced. Especially not just after giving birth to my first child and especially not in the shadow of my husband’s new relationship with a celebrity.”
With Slater and Grande rumoured to have gotten close on the set of Wicked, she added: “Days with my son are sunny. Days when I can’t escape the promotion of a movie associated with the saddest days of my life are darker.”
People are now casting their opinions – with many slamming the couple for how they got together.
One person wrote on X: “Feel so bad for Lilly Jay, nearly dying in childbirth, moving across the world for her husband’s career, only for him to cheat and leave her for a pop star.
Fans aren’t impressed with how soon the pair got together from each of their former relationships (Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)
“Ethan Slater and Ariana Grande should be ashamed of themselves.”
It has been reported that the relationship began following the breakdown of Slater’s relationship with Jay, and the collapse of Grande’s marriage to Dalton Gomez.
Another person wrote: “Ethan Slater filing for divorce 2 months after his (ex)wife survived preeclampsia and gave birth to their son… i feel so sorry for her, that is such a well written article about what she went through.”
And a third said: “Almost dying from eclampsia, moving to a whole other continent with your 2 month old away from your family— to support a man that repays you by leaving to be with another woman? I hope she never lets him know peace.”
Tyla has reached out to representatives of Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater for comment.Featured Image Credit: Santiago Felipe/Getty Images for Universal Pictures/Theo Wargo/Getty Images
Topics: Ariana Grande, Wicked, Sex and Relationships, Celebrity
Kya Buller
Updated 12:37 20 Dec 2024 GMTPublished 12:36 20 Dec 2024 GMT
Everything Ethan Slater’s ex-wife has said about marriage amid Ariana Grande cheating allegations
Ethan Slater shares a son with his now ex-wife, Lilly Jay
Despite being published just yesterday (19 December), the powerful first-person piece from Lilly Jay, the ex-wife of Wicked‘s Ethan Slater, has garnered a lot of attention.
It marks the first time that Jay has given her own side of the story regarding her high profile split from her partner of 12 years, Slater, and his romance with his Wicked co-star Ariana Grande.
Ethan Slater and his ex-wife, Lilly Jay (Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
Slater filed for divorce when the son he shares with Jay was just two months old, and his romance with Grande was made public.
The singer also went through a divorce not long before announcing her relationship with her co-star.
He said in an interview for GQ in September of this year: “I think there was something that was really difficult about things in your private life being commented on and looked at by the public.
“There were a lot of big changes in private lives that were really happening, so it’s really hard to see people who don’t know anything about what’s happening commenting on it.”
Meanwhile, Grande told Vanity Fair that same month: “The most disappointing part was to see so many people believe the worst version of it.
“There couldn’t be a less accurate depiction of a human being than the one that the tabloids spread about him.”
Ultimately, much was being made of Slater’s divorce, his romance with Grande, and how Jay felt about all of it – but none of it had come from the latter.
That was, until The Cut published her explosive piece ‘How Does My Divorce Make You Feel?’
Within it, Jay bared all about her heartbreak and Slater moving on in the public eye.
Here’s what she had to say.
.jpg)
Slater is now in a relationship with Ariana Grande (Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)
‘I didn’t understand the growing distance between us’
Jay, a clinical psychologist in perinatal mental health and child development, began by recounting: “I really never thought I would get divorced. Especially not just after giving birth to my first child and especially not in the shadow of my husband’s new relationship with a celebrity.”
She later mused on her penchant for a private life away from social media, and how that measured up to Slater’s profession as an actor.
She said: “My partner was on a different path, in which social media and exposure were not impediments but rather necessities.
“We puzzled through this predicament … It was a tenuous balance — my profession, which requires privacy, and his, which is measured in applause — but it worked well while life was unfolding according to our plans.”
Slater and Jay share a son (Andrew Toth/Getty Images for The Langham, New York, Fifth Avenue)
‘I can’t escape the promotion of a movie associated with the saddest days of my life’
Jay also opened up about the difficult birth of their son.
She wrote: “When my baby was first placed on my chest, still tethered to me by his umbilical cord, I sobbed with relief. We had done it. He had arrived. I survived preeclampsia, a life-threatening birth complication, and finally, our family was whole,” continuing: “Consumed by the magic and mundanity of new motherhood, I didn’t understand the growing distance between us.”
Accepting that her life had been thrust into the spotlight, Jay mused: “I work diligently on my private project of accepting the sudden public downfall of my marriage.”
Wicked trailer
Credit: Universal Pictures
0 seconds of 3 minutes, 28 secondsVolume 90%
‘Some of what you loved most about your partner was actually your own goodness reflected back to you’
“This, I tell myself, is nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to hide. Slowly but surely, I have come to believe that in the absence of the life I planned with my high-school sweetheart, a lifetime of sweetness is waiting for me and my child.”
Heartbreakingly, Jay appears to reference the release of Wicked, where Grande and Slater are rumoured to have begun their romance on set.
“Days with my son are sunny. Days when I can’t escape the promotion of a movie associated with the saddest days of my life are darker,” she admits.
Jay then says she can inform others, ‘with personal and professional authority,’ that ‘some of what you loved most about your partner was actually your own goodness reflected back to you.’Featured Image Credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images/Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
