With Part 2 of Wicked on the horizon, Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater have been dancing through life amidst the film’s enormous popularity.
During the movie’s press tour, the co-stars have been praising one another and revealing some close calls. Since their respective marriages ended, they have largely kept their affair under wraps.
Slater’s ex-wife Lilly Jay’s column for the Cut about negotiating her divorce “in the shadow of my husband’s new relationship with a celebrity” is now upsetting their bliss a little.
Less than a year after they welcomed their first child together, Grande was reportedly dating Slater, who had recently split from Jay, according to a July 2023 article.
“I diligently work on my private project of accepting the sudden public downfall of my marriage in the endless hours I spend rocking my son to sleep, pushing his stroller, and marveling at his sweaty little hands grasping a crayon,” Jay wrote. I tell myself that I have nothing to conceal or be embarrassed of. I’ve gradually come to the conclusion that, even if my life with my high school sweetheart doesn’t work out, a lifetime of sweetness awaits me and my child.
The clinical psychologist stated in the article, “How Does My Divorce Make You Feel?” that no couple “gets married thinking they’ll get divorced, in the same way we don’t board a plane expecting to crash.” However, I never imagined that I would end up divorcing. Particularly not immediately following the birth of my first kid, and particularly not while my husband’s new relationship with a celebrity was in the news.”
“Sunny days are spent with my son. It is darker on the days when I am unable to avoid the promotion of a film that is linked to the most depressing moments of my life,” she wrote.
While filming Wicked with Grande in the UK, Jay also wrote about the “increasing distance” between her and Slater.
“I moved to another country with my 2-month-old baby and my husband to support his career, even though I knew all the statistics as a perinatal psychologist, including how vulnerable a marriage is in the postpartum period, how important community connections are in preventing depression and anxiety, and how new parenthood impacts a whole family,” she wrote. “I didn’t realize how far apart we were becoming because I was so engrossed in the magic and everydayness of new motherhood.”
She added, “Perhaps we could consider my messy, non-personal life that way: a dose of my own loss, rage, powerlessness, and sadness that helps me hold yours.” Given what you now know, I can state with authority both personally and professionally that you are far more powerful than you realize. Some of the qualities you cherished most about your relationship were actually reflections of your own goodness, which you may preserve and continue to cherish.
“Regardless of how our parenting time is divided, Slater and I both fiercely love our son 100 percent of the time,” she added in her letter.
The chronology of Grande and Slater’s affair is brought back into sharp relief by Jay’s recent remarks regarding the divorce.