Actor Ethan Slater is rumored to be dating Ariana Grande after allegedly splitting from his wife after welcoming a child with her. Let’s meet his estranged spouse Lilly Jay and son, Ezra.
Ethan Slater is an American actor, singer, and composer.
He rose to fame after being selected to play the titular role in SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical, for which he received a Tony Award nomination and won a Drama Desk Award in 2018.
Most recently, he was cast as Boq in the movie adaptation of the Broadway musical “Wicked,” which has been in production in England and has a scheduled release date of November 2024, although it is unclear if that date will be delayed due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes.
Lately, he’s been in the news over his romantic life as fans link him to a very famous pop star.
Because of relationship rumors that have surfaced, fans want to get more of an understanding of his romantic life. Is he married? Is he seeing someone new? Here are all of the details of his personal life.
Is Ethan Slater married?
Ethan Slater has been married once to Lilly Jay back in 2018. According to Page Six, the two were high school sweethearts who began dating in 2012.
Throughout their relationship, Slater gave many glimpses of their romance, including loving tributes to Jay.
“My best friend. 4 years married, 10 years together. And this is easily the best (and most *bizarre*) year yet,” he captioned a post from November 2022 documenting their wedding anniversary.
Jay also supported him at various industry events, including the 2018 Tony Awards, when he was nominated for best performance by a leading actor in a musical for his role in SpongeBob SquarePants.
Lilly does not seem to be in the entertainment industry and does not seem to have any public social media accounts.
Amid Slater and Grande’s dating news, a source told PEOPLE that Slater is “separated from his wife” Lilly Jay, however, it remains unclear when and why they split.
Does Ethan Slater have any children?
Yes, the actor is a father of one. He shares his son and only child named Ezra with his estranged wife Jay.
Ethan and Lilly’s son was born in August 2022 and they announced on Instagram in January 2023 by sharing a photo of a onesie that read “Wicked Cute.”
“Super vague post, but we have a baby now,” he wrote, later confirming on Mother’s Day that they’d welcomed a son.
There aren’t any public photos of him.
Who is Ethan Slater dating right now?
Now that there are unconfirmed reports suggesting the ‘Wicked’ actor has separated from his wife of ten years, Ethan is rumored to now be dating Ariana Grande.
It was reported on July 20, 2023, by several outlets that Ethan is now dating his Wicked co-star and popular music artist Ariana Grande and has been for several months.
The two have not publicly confirmed nor denied the rumor. Yet, Ethan switched his public Instagram profile to private after their rumored relationship was exposed.
Ariana Grande just separated from her husband.
After getting engaged in 2020, Ariana and her husband Dalton Gomez got married in May 2021. Dalton is also not in the entertainment industry (he’s a realtor), but Ariana frequently shared photos of them on social media.
A few days before it was reported that Ariana was seeing Ethan, it was revealed that she and Dalton have separated after two years of marriage. No official divorce papers have been signed by either of them as of yet.
Dalton reportedly wants to save his marriage with Ariana.
Before the news broke about Ariana seeing someone else, the couple seemed to be inseparable. They even appeared in the music video “Stuck With U” together that she released with Justin Bieber.
A representative for Dalton spoke with Elle about how he reacted to her new relationship with Ethan. And apparently, he does not want to give up on their marriage.
The rep said, “Dalton has been devastated by it. A separation is not what he’s wanted. He wanted the fairytale, happy ending, and it’s not looking that way.”
Another source chimed in and said, “Dalton is hoping to make things work with Ariana. Despite the rocky patches they’ve been through, he isn’t ready to give up on their marriage. He saw himself spending the rest of his life with Ariana and will do anything to get past this.”
Sooner or later, fans will get an answer on whether or not Ariana and Ethan are really in a relationship, or if it’s just another Hollywood rumor. The couple might make their first official appearance together to promote Wicked, set to release in 2024.