Whether you’re her number-one fan or just a casual listener, everyone has heard of Ariana Grande.
It’s been a big year so far for Ari fans, with the star finally dropping her highly-anticipated seventh album Eternal Sunshine in early March. While news of new music is certainly exciting, 2024 has also seen the 30-year-old make headlines after being spotted with her rumoured new boyfriend, Ethan Slater.
While the couple have kept the details of their romance out of the spotlight, Slater opened up on the media attention surrounding their relationship for the first time ahead of the premiere of their new film, Wicked.
Speaking to GQ in October 2024, Slater shared that it was “really difficult” to see the continued commentary surrounding his private life, adding, “There were a lot of big changes in private lives that were really happening, so it’s really hard to see people who don’t know anything about what’s happening commenting on it and speculating, and then getting things wrong about the people you love.”
Despite not directly addressing the nature of their relationship, Grande also responded to the ongoing media narrative surrounding the timeline of the couple’s purported romance, telling Vanity Fair “The most disappointing part was to see so many people believe the worst version of it.”
“There couldn’t be a less accurate depiction of a human being than the one that tabloids spread about him… No one on this earth tries harder or spreads themselves thinner to be there for the people that he loves and cares about,” she continued, adding, “There is no one on this earth with a better heart, and this is something that no bulls*** tabloid can rewrite in real life.”
News of Grande and Slater’s rumoured romance first began to circulate shortly after sources speaking to People in January 2023 claimed that Grande and her then-husband Dalton Gomez had split after the singer travelled to England to film Wicked.
Two months later, Grande’s Wicked co-star Michelle Yeoh shared the first snap of the rumoured couple, with the cast celebrating Yeoh’s Academy Award win.
In the year following their first sighting, speculation surrounding their relationship has continued to circulate, with fans remaining eager to learn more about the new Hollywood couple.
Who is Ariana Grande dating?
Although neither party have explicitly confirmed their romance, Ariana Grande is believed to be in a relationship with actor Ethan Slater.
In July 2023, rumours of Grande and Slaters’s romance first made headlines after sources speaking to TMZ shared that the pair had allegedly begun dating shortly after meeting on set.
Speculation surrounding their new romance intensified following a report by TMZ that revealed Slater had filed for divorce from his high-school sweetheart Lilly Jay less than one year after the birth of their first child.
Over the following months, Grande and Slater were spotted together at a number of Broadway shows and while many believed their hangouts to be strictly platonic, rumours reignited after news broke in September 2023 that Grande and Gomez had filed for divorce.
As speculation continued to bubble, Grande and Slater were spotted together out for dinner on Christmas Eve with Grande’s father in New York City ahead of Slater’s Spamalot Broadway performance.
“They love to support each other in their work. When she’s done with work, she loves going to the theatre when she can,” a source told TMZ following the sighting.
Following the release of her latest album on March 8, 2024, an insider source speaking to the Daily Mail claimed that Grandes’s song The Boy is Mine was directed at Slater’s ex-wife.
“Ariana basically rubbed it in [Slater’s ex-wife] Lilly’s face that she stole Ethan from Lilly… Those close to Lilly believe she did this because she is upset that Ethan’s divorce is still dragging out,” the source claimed.
While the reports from the source remain unsubstantiated, Grande did respond to social media backlash regarding the song, writing to her Instagram story, “I just wanted to say anyone that is sending hateful messages to people in my life based on your interpretation of this album is not supporting me and is absolutely doing the polar opposite of what I would ever encourage.”
Speaking on the inspiration behind the song, the 31-year-old told Zane Lowe, “There is a large group of my fans that really, they do love a bad girl anthem, and this is, I think, a kind of elevated version of that.”
In October 2024, Slater also addressed rumours surrounding whether he served as inspiration for Grande’s Imperfect for You, telling GQ, “She’s such an amazing performer, and I think everyone knows how good she is as a recording artist and all that, but I’m just really blown away by the songwriting. I love that song.”
Following Grande’s message to her fans, Wicked co-star Bowen Yang took to his podcast to address the speculation surrounding his castmates, revealing that “the narrative is wrong.”
“She’s not even outwardly saying that, but the narrative has been incorrect, and people have even retracted things in these stories with no f***ing apology to the people involved,” he stated, adding, “I can tell you for a fact that what people out there seem to be clinging onto is incorrect.”
“I’m not going to reveal the actual facts because they’re not mine to reveal. This is someone who has been a true friend to me… Leave it alone.”
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