Ethan Slater Reportedly Eager To Finalize Divorce So He Can Have 'The Option To Propose' To Ariana Grande

By Emily Richardson | Celebrity | February 15, 2024 |

By Emily Richardson | Celebrity | February 15, 2024 |

Last summer, Ethan Slater left his wife/high school sweetheart/mother to their baby boy for a big-time (also married) pop star who will probably lose interest in him before their movie-musical comes out. The star? Ariana Grande. The movie? Wicked. Their relationship? Doomed. Especially since Ethan has the exact same face as Ariana’s older brother, Frankie Grande. Seriously, what are the chances?

Like John Mulaney and Olivia Munn before them, “sources” (Ariana’s PR team) tried to push the narrative that the couple got together after separating from their respective spouses. But Ethan’s estranged wife, Lilly Jay, wasn’t about to let her ex off the hook. Her sources claimed she was “completely blindsided” by Ethan and Ariana’s relationship. The insider said, “It’s horrible. They were high school sweethearts. They have a baby! She’s a wreck.” Soon, Lilly broke her silence to Page Six: “Ariana’s the story, really. Not a girl’s girl. My family is just collateral damage.” Hoo!

I’m on TikTok, so I know what the kids are saying. And they are not Team Ari/Ethan. They eviscerated Ethan’s mannerisms after one of his red carpet interviews went viral and slammed Ariana’s recent single “yes, and?” The song is about Ariana not caring what people say about her, but, as many have pointed out, a flip attitude after (allegedly) cheating isn’t exactly a great look. Did our girl learn nothing from Scandoval?!

Despite all the bad press, Ariana and Ethan are soldiering on. Yesterday, a source told Us Weekly that 31-year-old Ethan is “still in the mediation phase” of their divorce and custody agreements, and “things haven’t been finalized yet.” According to this insider, neither Ethan nor Lilly want a messy court battle “during which documents could become unsealed.” Instead, Ethan is focused on his future with Ariana:

“Ethan and Ariana are living together at her place and are very happy, but he’s eager to get things finalized with the divorce. He wants the option to propose [to Ariana], so he’s doing everything he can to expedite things.”

Fun fact: after that “option to propose” thing made headlines, US Weekly deleted it from the original article. Interesting. I guess Ariana and Ethan’s PR people felt the online reaction was too negative.

Last month, another pro-Ari/Ethan insider told US Weekly:

“Things between Ariana and Ethan have grown more serious in the past few months, and they’re pretty much inseparable. 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.”

And I can’t wait to see these two promote Wicked together in the fall. Whether they’re still together or not, I’m hoping for at least a tenth of the red carpet drama we got from Don’t Worry Darling. Sigh. It was the best of times…