Following Ariana Grande’s appearance at the Wimbledon men’s final, she served up two full weeks of homewrecker drama. She announced her split from her first husband Dalton Gomez, then within days, Team Grande leaked the news of her relationship with Ethan Slater, her Wicked costar and a man with a wife and baby at home. Last week was a full-on briefing war between Ariana’s team and Ethan’s estranged wife Lilly Jay, who was seemingly calling up every outlet to get her side out there, and even going on the record with Page Six about how Ariana isn’t a “girl’s girl” and the real drama was between Ari and Dalton. While it was messy as hell, I didn’t blame Lilly for wanting her side out there, and she really did some damage to Ethan and Ariana. She refused to go away quietly or let Ariana’s team bulldoze her into submission.
Then, last Saturday, TMZ got the tip from Team Grande that Ariana is giving Ethan some space to figure out his divorce drama with Lilly. That came out around the same time that People Magazine reported that Ethan had returned home to New York and was “seen” FaceTimeing Ariana as he walked down the street. Many people are wondering if Ariana and Ethan are already over, especially since their affair blew up so spectacularly and Ari’s image really took a hit. There hasn’t been any briefing war this week – Ari has been silent since she flew back to LA, and I assume Ethan is still in New York. While we wait for Team Grande to leak the situation to TMZ or People (or both), enjoy this piece from Us Weekly:
Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater are still an item — but don’t expect to see them hitting the red carpet together anytime soon.
“Ariana’s been told it’s too soon to go public with him and to take things slower,” an insider exclusively told Us Weekly of Grande, 30. “She’s very aware of how she’s perceived by her fans, and she’s trying to be mature. [But] if it were up to her, she’d be seen with him tomorrow.”
Grande and her husband, Dalton Gomez, split in January after nearly two years of marriage. Last month, a source told Us that Slater, 31, and wife Lilly Jay were already separated when he began dating Grande. While some sources insist that there was no overlap between the relationships, the first insider tells Us that Grande and Slater’s inner circles advised them to “be respectful” because there is a family involved. Slater and Jay, 31, welcomed a son in August 2022.
“Things are heating up behind the scenes,” the insider says. “Publicly, they’re backing off, but [in reality], they’re not.”
Do you think this is for real? Do you think Ariana is still interested, even though she blew up his life and got him to file for divorce from Lilly? Like, what looks worse? Ariana dumping Ethan right after he filed for divorce, or Ariana staying with Ethan for eight months and then dumping him when his divorce comes through?
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Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Instagram.
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- 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards held at The Staples Center – Arrivals Featuring: Ariana Grande Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 26 Jan 2020 Credit: CF/Cover Images
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- , New York, NY – 20180610 Celebrities attend the 72nd Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. -PICTURED: Ethan Slater -PHOTO by: Kristin Callahan/ACE/Instarimages.com -061018_TonyAwards_K072 This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Instar Images LLC for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Instar Images LLC reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded Featuring: Ethan Slater Where: New York, New York, United States When: 10 Jun 2018 Credit: Kristin Callahan/ACE/Instarimages.com
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- , New York, NY – 20180610 Celebrities attend the 72nd Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. -PICTURED: Ethan Slater -PHOTO by: Kristin Callahan/ACE/Instarimages.com -061018_TonyAwards_K071 This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Instar Images LLC for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Instar Images LLC reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded Featuring: Ethan Slater Where: New York, New York, United States When: 10 Jun 2018 Credit: Kristin Callahan/ACE/Instarimages.com
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- -New York, NY – 20181206 – Billboard’s 13th Annual Women in Music, at Pier 36 -PICTURED: Ariana Grande -PHOTO by: JOHN NACION/startraksphoto.com This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Startraks Photo for licensing fee and rights information at sales@startraksphoto.com or call +1 212 414 9464 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Startraks Photo reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded Featuring: Ariana Grande Where: New York, New York, United States When: 06 Dec 2018 Credit: JOHN NACION/startraksphoto.com
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- -New York, NY – 20190304 – Lincoln Center Theater’s benefit performance of Camelot, starring Lin-Manuel Miranda and directed by Bartlett Sher -PICTURED: Ethan Slater -PHOTO by: Adam Nemser/startraksphoto.com Disclaimer: This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Startraks Photo for licensing fee and rights information at sales@startraksphoto.com or call +1 212 414 9464 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Startraks Photo reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded For images containing underage children: Be advised that some Countries may have restricted privacy laws against publishing images of underage children. Inform yourself! Underage children may need to be removed or have their face pixelated before publishing Featuring: Ethan Slater Where: New York, New York, United States When: 04 Mar 2019 Credit: Adam Nemser/startraksphoto.com
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- -Los Angeles, CA – 01/26/2020 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards – Red Carpet -PICTURED: Ariana Grande -PHOTO by: Startraksphoto.com -SRK_83312 Startraks Photo New York, NY For licensing please call 212-414-9464 or email sales@startraksphoto.com Featuring: Ariana Grande Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 26 Jan 2020 Credit: Startraksphoto.com
This looks like his senior class picture for the high school yearbook.
Yep, high schoolers! What’s the point of taking it slow after all this? Once you’ve wreaked havoc, you’d better fuck hard.
Lol! I’m dying
If it’s true lust it can’t be stopped
According to Lainey, he’s now being called “Spongebob Sidepiece” LOL!
That nickname is exactly what this doofus deserves.
Bwahahahaha!
Savage but fair, I love it lol
That is outstanding.
🤣
There’s NO “better look” for Arianna at this point. Both she and Ethan have revealed their true colors.
Oh they certainly have!! Every possible color and version of their true selves has been on full display with these two!
They look like they could be related. Ugh, gross!
Someone said he looks a lot like her brother Frankie, I can’t unsee it. Ew
This is normal apparently. The thinking goes: people often marry people who look like them, bc they unconsciously pick people that remind themselves of loved ones like a beloved brother or father. Like if they look like them, then they will be as nice as them. Not rational, but the subconscious isn’t always rational.
There needn’t be a specific reminder of a beloved person, just a subconscious hope that this person who looks like a variation of me will ‘get me’.
Bonding over insecurity regarding (and having been bullied about?) the way one’s eyes look. I always think of this when I see a picture of Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos together.
It is common for couples to look like each other. Even when it’s not immediately obvious, you’ll see similarly shaped eyes or smiles, etc. You’re more likely to give that person the benefit of doubt or show compassion because they look like you, so it’s usually considered a good thing.
Personally I think she looks more like Dalton, but maybe this guy looks like her original face.
I think Meghan and Harry look a lot alike! Very similar noses, especially.
It all looks bad either way but that seems to be how she rolls. She is just a needy and insecure person. She acts like a teenager and is reckless. Of course not all teenagers are reckless but Ariana certainly acts that way. Ariana needs to grow up and make better choices but she doesn’t seem to be wired that way so she will probably cause more chaos in the future.
“She’s trying to be mature” is the quote that caught my eye out of that whole excerpt. I don’t think I believe that she’s capable of even pretending to be mature at this point.
No, Ariana isn’t capable of maturity with her many buried issues. Until AG works on herself, she will leave a trail of destruction and pain in her wake.
All I can think about is Ms. Jay and her baby.
It’s too late. Slow it down or speed it up. We know who this second rate Thumbalina is. Periodt. And if she and that cheating ass bum are done that would be a cherry on their turd cake.
I think if she ends this now people will forget (I feel like she’s already created drama, caused a ruckus, her rep has taken a hit AND they’re no longer on set so she’s probably bored and ready to move on). I think if she rides this out for months people will constantly see her for who she is and it won’t just be a few weeks or months of backlash but instead she’ll really feel the hit. I’m hoping he’s just tying up loose ends at his former home then will be by her side. Unless there’s hope for reconciliation and restoration of his family I want her to keep this going-like promos need to have them still together or just broken up. I want this to have the consequences of sinking the film and AG’s crossover potential into bigger films as @Scorpiomoon suggested. (Hmmm…anyone else wondering if this has been blessed by her people as a publicity stunt?)
Personally, I’d love for this to be a Leeann-Eddie sitch where they ride this one out. That way Lily gets released from that unfortunate-looking fella and Ari gets stuck with him. In my opinion, that seems pretty fair. They deserve each other. ☹️
Is Ethan regretting it yet? Because he will and for the rest of his life, long after AG has forgotten his name.
She’s been told it’s too soon to go public. The problem is that she already has and is now trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube. And if you’ve ever tried to do that, you know how messy that can be.
In the header pic, it seems like they are holding hands under table, or is it just me seeing that?
Didn’t see it at first but yes, it does look like that. It would explain the weird angle of her arm.
Lol, an interesting thought experiment. How could Ariana make this worse?
She could have a kid with him. Kids always make messy situations just so much worse.
Oh yes, epic mess.
Make disparaging comments about Lilly would be the easiest way for this to blow up in her face even worse.
Quickie marriage with Ethan, sign onto a massively overbudgeted movie that underperforms, have a torrid affair with her costar, and marry and divorce the new costar twice.
Breaking up with Slater right now would make it worse, wouldn’t it? As in, for months they had an affair, then she wants or they want to make it public, he tells his wife and when all hell breaks loose, she dumps him. That would make it much worse because she/they caused so much pain for nothing.
I don’t think Ariana or Ethan wanted their affair made public at all. I think they were just f*cking around with each other out of boredom and had no intention of leaving their spouses. But then a crew member told Ethan’s wife about the affair. Ariana hurriedly announced that she & Ethan are in a relationship probably because they knew Lilly was about to inform the media, and she (Ariana) wanted to get out in front of things and announce it on her own before it was announced for her. It looked better, for her image, to tell the public that she & Ethan are in an actual relationship, that they had already left their spouses, etc. than to admit they were just screwing around. Now she’s kind of “forced” to be in a relationship with Ethan since she told everyone that she is, and because he blew up his life for her. If they hadn’t been found out, Ari & Ethan would still be with their spouses, IMO.
I see her progressively ghosting him rather than outright dumping him.
How could she make it worse? She pulls the same stunt with the director and gets pregnant.
It’s too late to put the Geni back in the bottle Ari. Hindsight is 20/20 but foresight would have been more prudent. How about waiting more than a couple weeks between the divorce announcement and the new relationship roll-out. Is that so hard? Or was she worried it would get out anyway? How about discretion. Oh nevermind. That’s just not in her wheelhouse. Or better yet, how about she takes a year alone. Like a live eat stay single year. The overlap is the only constant in her relationships.
Yeah it’s the “sources insist that there was no overlap between the relationships” for me. They are both literally still married.
Working overdrive in order to save the chaos that AG created doesn’t absolve her of her responsibility.
This popped up yesterday, intriguing coincidence? I think not.
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/ariana-grande-dating-history-timeline-002254082.html
Possibly a stupid question: AG’s been in several relationships that have a very “iffy” timeline between her newest boyfriends’ breakup and their dating her, right? Sometimes the former girlfriend gets salty, but you don’t really hear much from the boyfriends after they pass their expiration date. Does she make them sign NDAs?
I’m wondering if ES was supposed to get LJ to sign a piece of paper as well to keep her quiet and have a smooth transition.
Not stupid at all. Yes she probably does. AG has lawyers and PR and will recover from whatever hit her reputation takes. Ethan is in for a world of hurt when she moves on. This is the proverbial slow motion car wreck for him and only him.
Is AG’s husband just a private person who doesn’t to express his reaction in public or has he already been NDAed?
I’m sure some of both, Ladyship Digby, but especially when there’s a divorce it makes sense that there would be an NDA. If he stays quiet, he gets a bit more money than he was otherwise promised in the prenup, and then he gets to be an attractive, rich young man fresh off a starter marriage with no kids.
Lilly Jay has a baby and a decade-long marriage, so even if Ariana tried to get her to sign onto an NDA, I can see how it didn’t work.
@ lunchcoma, image the laughter coming from Lilly Jay being asked to sign an NDA from AG’s group!!
Not going to happen, ever!!
I hate that Lilly is having to deal with the stress of a high profile divorce while caring for a new baby, but she is going to come out so much better on the other side. He was her childhood sweetheart and I can’t imagine the pain of betrayal from your lifelong best friend, but I just have a good feeling that something better is ahead for her in life. And no, she doesn’t owe either of them a thing. Why would she?
I saw a side by side of this guy and her brother and they’re long lost twins, its creepy
And so it begins. Sounds like her team was banking on Lilly staying mum so they could just position this as a new, post-separation fling for AG. But once Lilly started talking and people started looking at the timeline, they quickly realized what a PR nightmare this is for AG and now they’re telling her she needs to get distance, at the very least, for the sake of the “Wicked” release. No one wants another “Don’t Worry Darling” promotional tour, especially not the studio, and this could be the kind of bad press that sinks the film and AG’s crossover potential into bigger films.
These two won’t make it to Halloween. Spongebob blew up his whole life for absolutely nothing, and now he’s probably gonna take a huge career hit for it too. Sometimes karma is slow, but sometimes, it’s deliciously fast, and this looks like it’ll be the latter. Got my popcorn ready!
Hope they make it to Hakloween. Said it before. He looks like geppetto just made him a real boy. Standing next to him, see looks like his ventriloquist. She probably broke up with his wife for him while he was sitting in her lap.
Her PR team must be nostalgic for the donut-licking days
Omg! I almost had coffee come out my nose! Best comment of the day!!
I can see them trying to lure her away with a Dunkin’ – “Look Ari, it’s Boston cream, there’s chocolate on top.”
Ah, simpler times.
Awesome comment!!! Lol
AG’s PR people have power pushing the Ethan and Lily were already separated narrative. Nope.
I’m sorry guys, I know it’s mean as hell, but every time I look at a picture of him I’m just like…THAT is what she thought was worth blowing up her public image for LOLOLOL. Dude looks an amalgamation of an adult Chuckie doll and something an orange cat coughs up. Like, my God, woman, if you’re going to go for the kind of loser who leaves his wife and child, at least make sure he’s a hot loser.
He doesn’t even have ‘good personality’ to fall back on, he ruined that completely.
…YES, to everything you say! maybe I’m shallow, but all I can focus when I read posts about them is daaamn he is fugly! even if he was super rich, well-endowed, I wouldn’t, his looks are too distracting(and not in a good way)
I’ll never understand why people always say that about someone’s looks in reference to cheating. It almost always has nothing to do with looks. Maybe at first that fueled the attraction, but it’s the person, the way they make you feel, the chemistry. I’ve personally never dated anyone for their looks; there has to be something there. A beautiful woman can always be cheated on and it often isn’t with a “more beautiful” person.
Because a person who cheats on their partner right after having a kid has proven their personality and character are trash. What’s left after that are looks, and if they’re not serving that, then all of us on the outside looking in just have to assume you’re a trashy idiot with terrible taste lol.
True, my ex looked like Bob Dylan dragged through a hedge backwards, but he was super smart and talented. But then he cheated with one of his grad students – the next time I saw him after we broke up I thought, “Holy crap, what did I ever see in THAT?”
If SpongeBob and his wife were already separated, why didn’t Lily know that? She’s really messed up their cute little stories. Go Lily!
I can accept that this is being said to her and I would also like to show everyone this beautiful closed stable door over here.
Horse? What horse?
I always thought “Break up with your Girlfriend” was about Ari wanting her bf to break up with her — that she was the girlfriend. But I was naive. Girl has been telling us who she is.
Narcissists hate being the butt of jokes and she’s become one. The dude is trash and everyone has let that be known. Plus they keep bashing his looks all over Twitter – everything from his adult teeth haven’t grown in, to it’s creepy as hell he looks like the Walmart bargain bin version of her brother, to he is Howdie Doodie the guy on the cover of the MAD cartoon books etc. This is not about a crisis of conscience, because she has none. She’s embarrassed they are the butt of everyone’s jokes. The Chuckie and SpongeBob memes have been never ending. They deserve it.
Her acting career is going to take a huge hit. Who would want her in their production when she engages such unprofessional behavior? She may have tanked this production. If I am one of the producers or anyone involved in this I am absolutely livid.
Her singing career will be just fine. There’s obviously a market for Blackfishing slash Asianfishing singers who don’t enunciate, lick donuts, and dress like sexy toddlers.
He on the other hand may not recover which sucks because I want Lily to get half his sh*t. Hell I want her to get everything. Now he gets to use his own sh*tty behavior to say he is worth less and can’t pay her now. She should sue Ariana directly for alienation of affections and take her to the cleaners. I know it’s still a law on the books in North Carolina but not in many other places. She should sue her ass for something. Ariana should have to pony up for the damage she has done. She is the deep pockets here. Whatever you do Lily don’t take that POS back. Leave him out in the cold where he belongs.
It’s over.
Twitterai are already speculating that she’s dropped him because out of sight out of mind with an even shorter attention span than ES who forgot he was married with a baby when on set with a fickle minx.
Yup. She’s done. The bubble of protection during filming has burst.
I agree that all this is messy, but I respectfully push back on this statement:
“Do you think Ariana is still interested, even though she blew up his life and got him to file for divorce from Lilly?”
Ethan blew up HIS life. Ethan made the choice to file for divorce. Ariana is scum too, no doubt, but we’re not letting Ethan (or any cheating man) off the hook for choices HE made
Her lower lip looks totally jacked up in the header picture
Must be the consequences of too much filler for too long. Her lip looks deflated.
She’s “trying to be mature.”
As opposed to “she’s being mature.”
I hope Lilly Jay finds the NY version of Laura Wasser to represent her, then wipes the floor with Ethan Slater in this divorce. Oh, and Pete Davidson dodged a bullet didn’t he?
I kept wondering why does Ariana look so different in that pic? It’s not just the blonde hair. Then I realized that’s her natural skin tone, which she usually hides with 10 layers of fake tan. I guess for Wicked they wanted her to be her natural White skin tone?
The fact Ariana hasn’t even filed for divorce is sooo telling, Ethan is surely seeing this HUGE red flag right? Poor idiot, well deserved
Breaking up a couple who were childhood sweethearts who had a baby a year ago is never a good look. Doubly not when you have Arianna’s history of going after men who are dating or married to someone else. Arianna is simply one of those women who loves the challenge of breaking up a couple.
I wish I knew as much about how conniving women can be in my twenties as I know now. I am middle aged and have lost my looks so I have the knowledge but not the opportunity to put it to use like I did when I was in my twenties. As the old saying goes, “Youth is wasted on the young.” I am sure that I am not the only woman who wishes she could’ve had the knowledge acquired by middle age in her youth. 😔
I don’t usually comments on someone’s looks….But for him the struggle is real….