Yahoo News PSA: Ariana Grande just went Instagram-offical with Ethan Slater!
It's official, Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater are currently dating after meeting on set of Wicked, and we've broken down their complete relationship timeline for your reading pleasure.
Previously, Ariana was married to Dalton Gomez and Ethan was married to and shares a child with his ex, Lilly Jay. Yet, since relationship rumours began circulating, sources have really hammered home the fact that both Ari and Ethan were both separated from their spouses when they began dating.
But, if you're like us and need an exact day-by-day breakdown of how their relationship fits in with their respective splits and other news, then here is Ariana and Ethan's dating timeline, starting with the most recent update.
Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater's relationship timeline
18th April
PSA: Ariana and Ethan just went Instagram-official! That's right, the singer took to social media to share a snap of her arm-in-arm with Ethan, alongside their co-star Jonathon Bailey.
Swipe to the last slide to see their online debut:
Side note, but she looks absolutely gorgeous and we're obsessed with Jonathon's sparky shirt!
Now, for the rest of Ari and Ethan's relationship...
November 2022
Ethan writes a sweet anniversary post to his wife, Lilly Jay, saying, "My best friend. 4 years married, 10 years together. And this is easily the best and most (*bizarre*) year yet."
Please be advised that his Instagram account is currently private, so nope... no pics!
7th December, 2022
Wicked starts filming in London, meaning Ariana leaves Los Angeles and moves across the pond — entering into a long-distance marriage with Dalton Gomez.
Lost my phone…so I couldn’t keep up today with the announcements especially while we were shooting day 3 here in London. Just know things are going great. The #WickedMovie is really happening and I have 3 days of footage of prove it :) oh also JEFF GOLDBLUME IS THE WIZARD!!!! https://t.co/ygjqdR7TVy
— Jon M. Chu (@jonmchu) December 9, 2022
January 2023
Dalton and Ariana separate, according to TMZ, but no one finds out until literally months later.
14th May, 2023
Ethan celebrates his wife Lilly Jay’s first Mother’s Day on Instagram, writing, “Happy first Mother’s Day, to the most loving caring and wonderful mom/person in the world, from me and this little guy.”
Ethan Slater announced he had his first child with his wife in January. As of May he was tagging her in Mother's Day posts...that Ariana was liking. Make. the narrative. make. sense. pic.twitter.com/QZZ5MikJPW
— Ej Dickson (@ejdickson) July 20, 2023
16th July, 2023
Two months later, Ariana shows up at Wimbledon and fans are quick to notice she’s not wearing her wedding ring.
That same day, TMZ reports “sources with direct knowledge” tell them Ariana and Dalton have “had marriage trouble of late… including a rough patch a few months ago.” The outlet also says their current “status” is unknown.
17th July, 2023
Literally one day later, TMZ reports that Ariana and Dalton have separated and are "heading for divorce."
The outlet adds they “have been separated since January" and they “tried a reconciliation” a few months back, but it “failed.” TMZ notes the couple’s problems started "before" Ariana’s move to London.
This same day, three (yes, three!) sources spoke to Entertainment Tonight about the situation:
“Ariana and Dalton tried to make things work, but ultimately they were just not a good fit. Dalton has been very private and low-key about their relationship with his work colleagues and hasn’t been talking a lot about their split.”
“Ariana and Dalton’s friends have always been concerned by their whirlwind romance and felt their relationship would ultimately be short-lived. Their relationship has been rocky at different points, and they’ve had trouble making time for each other with scheduling issues.”
“Ariana and Dalton have had issues for a while and tried working through them but couldn’t. Ariana has been filming Wicked overseas and working a lot. The couple ultimately decided to end things.”
TMZ then circles back with this revelation: “We’re told Dalton has been dating over the last few months, which was fine with Ariana.”
19th July, 2023
A source tells Us Weekly “Dalton is really hoping to make things work with Ariana,” and “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.”
20th July, 2023
OK, now that we’ve set the stage with what’s going on with Dalton and Ari, the time has come to get back to this man:
TMZ is the first to report the news of Ethan and Ariana dating, casually noting that Ethan has been married to Lilly Jay since 2018 and they have a son together. Meanwhile, a People source confirms, “Ariana and Dalton separated in January. She and Ethan recently began dating, and he is separated from his wife.”
Over at Us Weekly, an insider goes to lengths to make it clear Ethan and Ariana only started dating after they’d split from their respected partners: “Ariana and Ethan are dating; however, things are fairly new. Ariana and Dalton split in January, and Ethan is separated from his wife. Ariana and Ethan have only recently begun seeing each other but they have a lot of fun together and are enjoying each other’s company.”
Then, an Entertainment Tonight source takes things even furhter: “Ariana and Ethan recently started dating. They have a lot in common and have a lot of fun. They didn’t start dating until both were broken up with their significant others. Ariana and Dalton remain friends.”
21st July, 2023
Ethan goes private on Instagram due to fans trying to figure out WTF is going on and digging up all those previously mentioned posts about his wife.
This same day, a source tells Page Six that Lilly is “completely blindsided” by news of Ariana and Ethan dating, adding, “It’s horrible. They were high school sweethearts. They have a baby! She’s a wreck.”
This insider also thinks Ariana and Ethan are the reason he and Lilly “suddenly” broke up “when nothing appeared wrong between them.”
22nd July, 2023
A source tells Entertainment Tonight that Lilly is “devastated” and “this is not the future she had in mind,” but “she’s doing her best to get back on her feet. She’s incredibly smart and driven” and is “truly the best mother.”
25th July, 2023
A source tells Entertainment Tonight that Dalton — who is “having a hard time... still considers [Ariana] his partner, but she has moved on." Awkward.
Meanwhile, Us Weekly reports that Ethan told Lilly about Ariana (and said he wanted to split up) just days before the news went public. A source says, “Ethan sat Lilly down a few days before the news broke about him and Ariana and said that he wanted a divorce. Lilly never saw it coming!"
Another source notes that “Ariana and Ethan weren’t careful. They’d hold hands on set in between takes. They were sloppy and not hiding it.”
26th July, 2023
TMZ claims that Lilly feels like Ethan has "abandoned his family" and that they "aren't" on good terms.
"It's understandable that emotions are high and it's hard seeing your ex move on, especially in such a public way, and her friends are trying to protect her," one source says. "But Ari and Ethan are just trying to lay low and be respectful of their exes as they pursue this new relationship."
This same day, Ethan officially files for divorce in New York. Oh, and an Us Weekly insider says Ethan and Ari are “very much in love,” though his friends are "worried she’ll break his heart."
27th July, 2023
Lilly gives a statement to Page Six, saying “[Ariana’s] the story really. Not a girl’s girl. My family is just collateral damage.”
Meanwhile, sources say Lilly is "telling Ethan and others that she only cares about protecting their child. She’s rightfully upset because her marriage fell apart, but Ariana and Ethan didn’t do anything wrong. Ethan is trying to take the high road and hopes he can resolve this situation for the sake of their child.”
Over on Daily Mail, however, an insider claims that "Lilly hung out with Ethan and Ariana so many times. Ariana met their baby and even held him. They had dinners together in London — and Ariana told Lilly that she wanted to have a baby one day and that she couldn't wait to start a family."
This source also says Lilly found out about Ethan and Ariana after visiting him on set — but they made the decision to "put it behind them" and "work on" their marriage.
"There was a period when they were all going to try and work on their marriages and put the whole thing behind them," the source says. "She thought they were happy. But that did not work out [because Ariana and Ethan] kept the affair going despite [that]."
29th July, 2023
TMZ reports that Ariana is giving Ethan "space to work things out" drama-wise with his ex Lilly Jay, and that they haven't chilled in "several weeks." That said, they are "100% still dating" and want to see each other!
2nd August, 2023
Us Weekly reports that Ariana wants to go public with the relationship, but has “been told it’s too soon to go public with him and to take things slower. She’s very aware of how she’s perceived by her fans, and she’s trying to be mature. [But] if it were up to her, she’d be seen with him tomorrow.”
4th September, 2023
Sources tell People that Ari and Ethan are still together, and that “while this entire situation has been blown out of proportion, it’s much different than what has been portrayed in public. They are just trying to navigate their new relationship in private."
A close family friend also says that “people have tried to question the timeline. The truth is, Ariana and Ethan didn’t begin seeing each other until after both parties were separated, respectfully."
6th September, 2023
Ethan posts on Instagram for the first time since, well, all this and Ariana goes ahead and likes it. His profile is private.
26th September, 2023
Ari and Ethan are seemingly spotted on a Disneyland date:
And a source tells the Daily Mail that "They went with a big group of friends including Ariana's mum and brother. They are really happy and really good for each other. All of her friends love him."
4th October, 2023
Ethan and Ari are living together! At least according to an Us Weekly source, who says “Ethan informed his friends and soon-to-be ex-wife that he’s living with Ariana full-time in New York. They’re really happy and really good for each other. All of her friends love him.”
22nd October, 2023
TMZ publishes photos of Ariana and Ethan enjoying a rare public date night in New York City, and says that — per their sources — "he kept getting up from where she was first sitting (across from ES) to come be directly by his side, where she whispered sweet-nothings into his ear, and planted some smooches."
31st October, 2023
Ariana shows up to support her man in his first preview of Spamalot! and according to Daily Mail wears a crown from the show. Love that for her.
12th November, 2023
Ariana and Ethan catch a showing of Gutenberg! The Musical! at the James Earl Jones Theater in NYC. They even give actual photographic evidence of their evening with stars Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells (ahem... swipe to slide three):
Per E! News, Ariana also posts a snap of her signed playbill on IG Stories, writing "Had the best time!"
14th November, 2023
A source tells Us Weekly that “Ethan and Ariana’s relationship is going very well and they’re both very involved in each other’s lives. Ethan’s met her family. And she’s met his family.”
Oh, and not only has Ariana's entire family given Ethan "the stamp of approval," her friend circle “adores him and thinks that he’s a perfect match for her," noting that he's "balanced, motivated, professional, extremely respectful of her and her boundaries, and her profession."
16th November, 2023
Ariana steps out for the premiere of Spamalot looking gorgeous!
Meanwhile, Ethan hits the carpet:
21st December, 2023
Ariana gives fans a look at her Christmas tree, which features a "SPAM" ornament —
A clear nod to Ethan's role in Spamalot!
26th December, 2023
Ariana and Ethan are spotted on a rare outing together in NYC with Ariana's dad. Page Six has the exclusive pics this way, if you're curious. Which we all are.
29th December, 2023
A source tells People that “Ariana is serious with Ethan. She loves being with him." They add that Ari and Ethan "mostly enjoy staying in," have "a very normal relationship," and "love to support each other in their work."
27th February
Ariana opened up about criticism from the media and speculation online in an interview Zach Sang, seemingly alluding to the rumours surrounding her relationship with Ethan.
"We selectively remember that this is what the tabloids do to people, especially women, based on whether or not we like the person," she said.
"We selectively leave space for humanness, for nuance... It’s selective. They turn it off when that aligns with the version of a person they have in their head that they want to believe is true."
And that brings us up to date. I think we can all agree the Wicked press tour should be Don’t Worry Darling levels of interesting!
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