It started with a bubble and a munchkin. Actually, it started with a massive, multi-million dollar film set in the English countryside, a lot of green paint, and two people whose marriages were, by all accounts, quietly coming to an end. When news first broke in July 2023 that Ethan Slater and Ariana Grande were a thing, the internet basically had a collective meltdown.
People were angry. They were confused. They were making memes about SpongeBob SquarePants. But as we sit here in 2026, with both parts of the Wicked cinematic event finally in the rearview mirror and the dust settled on two very public divorces, the story looks a lot different than the "homewrecker" narrative that dominated the early tabloids.
The London Fog: How It Actually Began
You have to remember the context. Filming for Wicked began in late 2022. Ariana was Glinda; Ethan was cast as Boq. They weren't just coworkers; they were part of a high-pressure, isolated "theatre kid" bubble for nearly two years.
Honestly, that kind of environment is a pressure cooker.
By January 2023, Ariana and her then-husband, Dalton Gomez, had already separated. They kept it quiet. They were "working on their friendship," as the publicists like to say. Meanwhile, Ethan’s situation was a bit more complicated—and way more scrutinized. He had been with his high school sweetheart, Lilly Jay, for a decade. They had a baby in August 2022.
The timeline is where everyone gets tripped up. Tabloids made it sound like they were swapping spit while their spouses were waiting at home with dinner. In reality, sources close to the production have consistently maintained that both were already headed for splits before things turned romantic.
Was it messy? Yeah. Life is usually messy. But the "scandal" was fueled largely by the fact that the public found out about the breakups and the new relationship all in the same week.
The Eternal Sunshine Factor
If you want to know what Ariana was actually feeling, you don't look at Page Six. You look at eternal sunshine.
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When she dropped that album in 2024, it was basically a roadmap of her headspace. She didn't hide the pain of her divorce from Dalton, but she also didn't hide her defensiveness about Ethan. Songs like "yes, and?" were a literal middle finger to the people speculating about her bedroom.
But it was "the boy is mine" that really set the record straight for fans. It wasn't about "stealing" a man; it was about the inevitability of a connection that people tried to shame. She even addressed the "disreputable tabloids" in a Vanity Fair interview, calling out the way they created a narrative just to pay their bills.
The Divorce Settlements: By The Numbers
To understand how serious this transition was, you just have to look at the legal paperwork. These weren't "flings." These were total life overhauls.
- Ariana & Dalton: Their divorce was finalized in March 2024. Ariana paid a one-time sum of $1.25 million to Dalton. No alimony. Just a clean break. They even split the proceeds from their L.A. home.
- Ethan & Lilly: This one was heavier. Ethan filed in July 2023, and it took until September 2024 to finalize. The details are sealed—mostly to protect their son—but it was clearly an arduous process.
Why the "SpongeBob" Jokes Missed the Point
The internet loves a punchline. Because Ethan Slater won a Tony nomination for playing SpongeBob on Broadway, people treated him like a cartoon character. It was an easy way to devalue the relationship. "She left a real estate mogul for SpongeBob?"
But if you’ve watched Ethan in Spamalot or seen his work in Wicked: For Good, you know he’s a powerhouse. He’s a "theatre person" in the same way Ariana is. They speak the same language.
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During the Wicked press tours in late 2024 and throughout 2025, we started seeing the real dynamic. It wasn't just red carpet PDA. It was the way she fixed his tie at the L.A. premiere. It was him being spotted backstage during her 2025 SNL appearance just to be her support system.
They moved into a place together in New York City fairly early on. That’s not "rebound" behavior; that’s "building a life" behavior.
The 2026 Reality: Where Are They Now?
Now that the Wicked hype has moved into the "award season legacy" phase, the couple has pulled back from the spotlight. And that’s probably the smartest thing they could have done.
The biggest misconception was that this was a PR stunt for the movie. If it were a stunt, they would have broken up the second the DVD (or the 2026 equivalent) came out. Instead, they’ve stayed steady. They’ve navigated the transition from "the people everyone is talking about" to "a couple living in NYC."
What We Can Learn From the Chaos
Looking back at the Ethan Slater and Ariana Grande saga, there are a few takeaways for anyone navigating their own "messy" transitions:
- Public perception is a lagging indicator. By the time the world hears about a breakup, it’s often been over for months.
- Shared passion matters. People wondered what they had in common. The answer was right there: a bone-deep love for musical theatre that most "normal" people find exhausting.
- Silence is a tool. They stopped explaining themselves. Ariana’s lyrics said enough, and Ethan’s work spoke for itself.
If you're following this story for the drama, you might be disappointed. The drama is over. What's left is two people who seem to have found exactly what they were looking for in the middle of a literal Oz-sized storm.
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To keep track of the couple's upcoming projects, you should keep an eye on the Broadway 2026-2027 season announcements, as both have expressed interest in returning to the stage together. You can also monitor the official Wicked movie social channels for any "behind-the-scenes" anniversary footage that usually drops around the holidays.