Inside Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater's Romance Timeline

Ariana Grande, Ethan Slater Break Up After More Than 2 Years of Dating

It turned out that Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater's time together was not meant to be unlimited.

The Wicked-cute couple, who met in 2022 when production started on Jon M. Chu's two-part saga, have broken up after almost three years of dating, E! News confirmed.

Speculation that they were no longer together preceded the news, as it had been six months since the last notable sighting of the pair, when Slater showed up at the Saturday Night Live after-party to support Grande when she hosted in December.

But they lived the fairy tale while it lasted, the experience of shooting and then promoting the juggernaut that was Wicked changing everyone involved for good.

"I hope this isn’t all a dream because as present as i am attempting to be, it sure does feel like one," Ariana wrote on Instagram in April 2023. "happy halfway to this most beautiful crew. my fellow Ozians. my heart will be stuck here forever."

Meanwhile, it wasn't public knowledge yet, but the 32-year-old had separated from husband Dalton Gomez that February after less than two years of marriage.

The exact timing wasn't known until they both filed for divorce that September, but E! News learned July 17, 2023, that Grande and Gomez had split up. Three days later, a source confirmed that Grande was dating Slater, who on July 26 filed for divorce from his wife of four years, Lilly Jay. (The exes share now-3-year-old son Ezra.)

Meanwhile, production on Wicked and Wicked: For Good was on pause during the summer of 2023 due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes when this tornado of news touched down.

John Shearer/97th Oscars/The Academy via Getty Images

And while no one involved clarified what exactly happened and when, Grande admitted after the dust had settled that she was stricken by how many people assumed she was the wicked one in this bunch.

"I have never felt more pride or joy or love while simultaneously feeling so deeply misunderstood by people who don't know me, who piece whispers together and make what they want out of me and their assumptions of my life," she wrote in December 2023 on her Instagram Stories. "I have learned how much more important one of those things is than the other."

As she put it on a February 2024 episode of The Zach Sang Show, "I feel like we don't need to go into any specifics. But of course, there's an insatiable frustration, inexplicable, hellish feeling with watching people misunderstand the people you love, and you and anything."

While there were reports that she and Slater were separated from their respective spouses by the time their romance began, the more popular narrative was the salacious one.

“It definitely doesn’t get any easier, seeing some of the negativity that was birthed by disreputable tabloids,” Grande told Vanity Fair in an interview published in September 2024. “Of course, I went through a lot of life changes during the filming of this movie. A lot of people that were working on it did."

Ultimately, she added, "The most disappointing part was to see so many people believe the worst version of it. That was definitely a tough ride.”

Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for National Board of Review

As for Slater, Grande said, “There couldn’t be a less accurate depiction of a human being than the one that the tabloids spread about him."

“No one on this earth tries harder or spreads themselves thinner to be there for the people that he loves and cares about," she continued. "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.”

However, she and Slater did find time to simply enjoy dating, going to Disney World, hockey games, Broadway shows and more, while also supporting each other's non-Wicked work. When previews started for the Spamalot revival starring Slater in October 2023, Grande was there. And when she released her 2024 album eternal sunshine, Slater praised his girlfriend's awe-inspiring singing talent as well as songwriting prowess.

"She's incredible," Ethan told E! News at the time. "She's not a singer who wants to be an actress or an actress who wants to be a singer. She's just the best of both."

The 34-year-old also acknowledged ahead of Wicked's November 2024 release that it had been a bittersweet year.

"There were a lot of big changes in private lives that were really happening," he told GQ, "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.”

Simultaneously, however, it had been "an amazing year," Slater added, “and I’m just really excited. I’m just really, really proud of Ari and the work she’s done on this."

Presley Ann Photo/Shutterstock for SAG

"There were a lot of big changes in private lives that were really happening," he told GQ at the time, "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.”

Simultaneously, however, it had been "an amazing year," Slater added, “and I’m just really excited. I’m just really, really proud of Ari and the work she’s done on this."

He ceded the spotlight to Grande when she was nominated for a 2025 Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her magical turn as future good witch Glinda—she and Cynthia Erivo were stuck like glue all awards season—but he did join her for date nights at the subsequent SAG Awards and Oscars.

Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic

While they were largely out of sight leading up to the November premiere of Wicked: For Good, all seemed status quo as 2026 approached, such as when Slater was spied joining Grande after her third time hosting SNL.

But when he skipped the Globes in January, though Grande scored repeat recognition, his absence may have been a sign of which way the wind was blowing for the romantic portion of their relationship.

See how Grande and Slater went from friends and costars to more, and back again.