Ethan Slater Describes His Relationship with Ariana Grande as a 'Truly Beautiful Experience'

Ethan Slater is saying “yes, and?” to the haters and gushing about girlfriend Ariana Grande in a rare interview amid criticisms about their romance.

“It was an amazing year and a really beautiful thing, and I’m just really excited,” the Broadway actor, 32, told GQ on Wednesday, October 30, of his relationship with Ariana, 31, which began on the set of the Wicked movie. “I’m just really, really proud of Ari and the work she’s done on this. She’s poured herself into it. I’m really proud that I got to be there for that part of it, and I’m really excited to be there for this next step of it when the world gets to see the amazing thing that she did.”

On the other hand, Ethan opened up about the struggles of having their relationship looked at under a microscope by the public.

“I think there was something that was really difficult about things in your private life being commented on and looked at by the public,” he continued. “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 and speculating, and then getting things wrong about the people you love. So just to address that part of it, that feels really hard.”

Wicked, in which Ariana stars as Glinda and Ethan plays Boq, began filming in December 2022. At the time, the “Thank U, Next” singer was married to Dalton Gomez, whom she wed in May 2021. Meanwhile, the SpongeBob Musical star was married to Lilly Jay, with whom he tied the knot in November 2018. Ethan and Lilly, 31, share one child.

Ariana and Dalton, 29, both filed for divorce in September 2023, although their date of separation was listed as February 20, 2023. The Grammy winner sparked dating rumors with Ethan in March 2023 after they were reportedly seen “all over each other” at an Oscars party.

Ethan filed for divorce from Lilly that July as rumors about him and Ariana continued to swirl. A source told Us Weekly that his estranged wife “never saw it coming.” Both the Spamalot star and the Nickelodeon alum faced backlash amid rumors that Ariana stole Ethan from Lilly.

Though Ariana reportedly gave Ethan “space” amid his divorce, the pair were “still dating,” a source told TMZ. They finally made their romance public in September 2023 when they were seen walking hand-in-hand at Disney World.

Ariana and Ethan continued to get more serious as her divorce with Dalton was finalized in October 2023 and his divorce from Lilly was finalized this September.

“Things between Ariana and Ethan have grown more serious in the past few months, and they’re pretty much inseparable,” an insider told Us Weekly in January. “Ariana deeply cares for Ethan and absolutely sees a future with him. She’s looking forward to a fresh start in the new year and can’t wait to see how things continue to grow for them.”

The “7 Rings” hitmaker opened up about their relationship and the “negativity” surrounding it in a September interview with Vanity Fair, admitting that it “definitely doesn’t get any easier” seeing the discourse. However, she insisted that the narrative about her romance with Ethan isn’t entirely accurate.

“The most disappointing part was to see so many people believe the worst version of it,” she explained. “That was definitely a tough ride. There couldn’t be a less accurate depiction of a human being than the one that the tabloids spread about [Ethan]. No one on this earth tries harder or spreads themselves thinner to be there for the people that he loves and cares about. There is no one on this earth with a better heart, and that is something that no bulls–t tabloid can rewrite in real life.”