Ethan Slater has spoken out for the first time about his relationship with Ariana Grande.
The musical theatre star first met the Grammy winning singer on the set of the upcoming film Wicked, which is set to be released on November 22.
Just a few months before filming began, Ethan - who will star in Wicked as Boq, opposite Ariana’s character Glinda - welcomed a baby son with his then-wife Lilly Jay in August 2022.
However, in July of the following year, it was confirmed that Ethan had filed for divorce from Lilly Jay after five years of marriage, and that Ariana had also split from her husband of two years, Dalton Gomez.
Within a few days, it was then reported that Ethan and Ariana had struck up a romance, the timeline of which prompted huge backlash from fans online.
Now, Ethan has chosen to break his silence on the matter and open up about his relationship with the 31-year-old singer.
In an interview with GQ, Ethan was asked what it felt like to “fall in love making [Wicked]”.
Describing it as a “really sweet question”, the 32-year-old replied: “Obviously, it was a really super big year, and I think there was something that was really difficult about things in your private life being commented on and looked at by the public.”
“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. So just to address that part of it, that feels really hard,” he admitted.
“But, of course, it was an amazing year and a really beautiful thing, and I’m just really excited. I’m just really, really proud of Ari and the work she’s done on this. She’s poured herself into it. I’m really proud that I got to be there for that part of it, and I’m really excited to be there for this next step of it when the world gets to see the amazing thing that she did,” Ethan concluded.