When Tony-nominated Broadway actor Ethan Slater was cast as the lovelorn Munchkin Boq in the film adaptation of the musical Wicked, it should have been a career-defining role. Instead, the production became the backdrop for a real-life drama that captivated and divided audiences worldwide. By the summer of 2023, it was reported that Slater, who had been married to his high-school sweetheart, clinical psychologist Dr. Lilly Jay, was in a new relationship with his Wicked co-star, pop superstar Ariana Grande. The story quickly moved beyond the typical celebrity romance rumor, triggering a firestorm of public speculation about infidelity, abandonment, and the explosive end of a marriage that had produced a baby son just a year earlier.
What followed was a tabloid frenzy. With both Slater and Grande leaving their respective spouses—Grande separated from real estate agent Dalton Gomez around the same period—the public demanded answers to a series of deeply personal questions. Did Ethan Slater cheat on his wife? Why did he leave his wife and baby? For months, the only noise was the roar of gossip columns and unnamed sources. But on a December day in 2024, the silence was finally broken. Lilly Jay, a fiercely private individual, stepped forward not with a tawdry exposé, but with a dignified and heartbreaking essay that reframed the entire narrative, moving the conversation from scandal to profound loss.
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To understand the devastation, one must look at the foundation of the marriage. Ethan Slater and Lilly Jay began dating in 2012 and married in November 2018. For years, they presented a united front, with Slater frequently posting heartfelt tributes to his “best friend” and celebrating their life together. By August 2022, they welcomed a son, and the family of three moved to London so Slater could film Wicked.
It was there, during what should have been a thrilling career opportunity, that the marriage began to crumble. In July 2023, Slater filed for divorce from Jay, and the news of his romance with Grande went public. The timing felt brutal to many observers: Slater left his wife and their son, who was just under a year old. While neither Slater nor Grande ever publicly admitted to a physical affair, the alleged timeline led many to conclude that an emotional affair had blossomed on set.
In her first public statement, published in The Cut, Lilly Jay described navigating the “sudden public downfall of my marriage” and the “shadow of my husband’s new relationship with a celebrity”. She did not mention Slater or Grande by name, but her words were devastatingly clear. “No one gets married thinking they’ll get divorced… especially not just after giving birth to my first child,” she wrote, noting that days spent promoting the Wicked movie were associated with “the saddest days of my life”. For her part, Ariana Grande later defended Slater in an interview, calling him a wonderful person, but the damage to Jay’s sense of security and the public’s perception was done.
Co-Parenting, Moving Forward, and An Amicable End
In the aftermath of the explosive allegations, the parties involved worked to build a new kind of stability, particularly for their young son. Ethan Slater and Lilly Jay finalized their divorce in September 2024 after nearly five years of marriage, with the terms of the settlement kept sealed.
Despite the painful split, both have publicly committed to putting their child first. “While our partnership has changed, our parenthood has not. Both of us fiercely love our son 100 per cent of the time,” Jay wrote in her essay. Slater, for his part, has echoed this sentiment, telling GQ magazine that being a dad is “the best thing in the world,” though he has been careful to note that co-parenting has been “an interesting thing to navigate”.
As for the romantic relationship that started it all, it ultimately ran its course. In early June 2026, multiple outlets reported that Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater had quietly and amicably split after nearly three years together. Reports indicate that the couple gave their decision “careful consideration” and have remained friendly and supportive of one another. With both moving on to other projects, the chapter on this controversial Wicked romance appears to be closed, leaving behind only the lessons of a very public heartbreak and the ongoing, private work of raising a child.
