Ariana Grande Is Providing 'Space' for Boyfriend Ethan Slater to Navigate Divorce from Estranged Wife Lilly Jay

Ariana Grande is reportedly giving her boyfriend, Wicked costar Ethan Slater, “space” to work out his divorce from his estranged wife, Lilly Jay.

Ariana, 30, and Ethan, 31, have been physically apart for several weeks. Ethan is currently in New York City as he is taking steps toward ending his marriage with his estranged wife, Lilly. Ethan has been seen walking around the city and at one point, he was spotted on FaceTime with Ariana during an outing.

Ethan’s return to NYC comes three days after Life & Style confirmed that he filed for divorce from Lilly following five years of marriage. According to court records viewed by Life & Style, Ethan filed for a contested divorce on Wednesday, July 26.

Just one day after the divorce filing, Lilly slammed the “Thank U Next” singer while breaking her silence on her split from Ethan. “[Ariana’s] the story, really. Not a girl’s girl,” Lilly said. “My family is just collateral damage.”

She explained that she is focusing on being “a good mom” to the former couple’s son. “The story is her and [her estranged husband] Dalton [Gomez],” she added.

Lilly and the SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical actor met as teens and were high school sweethearts. They started dating in 2012 and got married in 2018. The former couple welcomed their first child, a son, in August 2022. While it is unclear when Ethan and Lilly split, they seemed to be on good terms as of May 2023 when Ethan shared a touching tribute to Lilly in honor of Mother’s Day.

“Happy first Mother’s Day to the most loving caring and wonderful mom/person in the world, from me and this little guy,” Ethan wrote via Instagram at the time.

Two months later, news of Ethan’s relationship with Ariana broke on July 20. The pair had met in late 2022 while filming the upcoming film adaptation of the musical Wicked, with Ariana starring as Glinda and Ethan playing the role of Boq, the love interest of Nessarose — the sister of the Wicked Witch of the West Elphaba — and eventually becomes the Tin Man.

Ariana and Ethan’s relationship was revealed just three days after news of Ariana’s separation from her estranged husband, Dalton, broke on July 17. The “7 Rings” singer and Dalton, 27, went their separate ways in January after two years of marriage. They later attempted to reconcile their relationship but it was short-lived and they eventually made the decision to permanently split.

“Ariana and Dalton really tried to make things work,” a source exclusively told Life & Style in July. “Unfortunately, it just wasn’t meant to be. Ariana and Dalton found themselves drifting apart. They went to therapy, but in the end, they decided not to prolong the inevitable.”