Ethan Slater is not letting his recent split from Ariana Grande affect his spirits.
The 34-year-old Wicked star made his first public appearance since the news of their breakup, attending Free Shakespeare in the Park’s Romeo & Juliet at Central Park’s Delacorte Theater in New York City on Thursday, June 11.
Slater was captured in photos during the press night of the production, wearing a simple white T-shirt, black pants, and white sneakers, as shown in footage shared by People on Instagram.
This appearance coincided with the same week Grande, 32, launched her Eternal Sunshine Tour in Oakland, California. She started the tour on Saturday, June 6, at the Oakland Arena and is set to perform next on Saturday, June 13, and Sunday, June 14, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Reports emerged on Monday, June 8, revealing that Grande and Slater had ended their nearly three-year relationship.
“The split is amicable. They took their time and carefully considered their decision to part ways,” a source informed Us Weekly at the time. “They remain friends and continue to support each other. They have been quietly separated for several months.”
The two met on the set of Wicked in 2022. Grande portrayed Glinda the Good Witch in the 2024 Wicked film and its 2025 sequel, Wicked: For Good, while Slater took on the role of Boq.
“Once their press tour for Wicked: For Good concluded, they found themselves spending more time apart than usual,” an insider told Us regarding the conclusion of their romantic involvement. “They realized they wanted different things and began exploring their futures separately.”
Cynthia Erivo is reflecting back on how her friendship with Ariana Grande captivated fans during their Wicked press tour. “At first, I think people didn’t understand how it was possible for two women to be friends – close – and not lovers,” Erivo, 39, told the U.K. outlet The Stylist in a Tuesday, February 10, […]
Both continue to care for each other and had hoped to make things work out, according to the source.
Slater was previously married to clinical psychologist Lilly Jay, with whom he shares a 3-year-old son, from 2018 to 2024. Grande was married to real estate broker Dalton Gomez from 2021 to 2024.
In a December 2024 essay for The Cut titled “How Does My Divorce Make You Feel?” Jay expressed, “No one gets married thinking they’ll get divorced … but I really never thought I would get divorced. Especially not just after giving birth to my first child, and especially not in the shadow of my husband’s new relationship with a celebrity.”
Jay further wrote, “Days with my son are sunny. Days when I can’t escape the promotion of a movie associated with the saddest days of my life are darker,” referencing the press tour for Wicked.
