The 'Wicked' star struck up a romance with Ariana Grande after they split from their spouses, a source tells ET.
Ariana Grande has moved on following her split from husband Dalton Gomez -- with a fellow Ozian!
The actress and singer is dating Wicked co-star Ethan Slater, a source confirmed to ET on July 20.
"Ariana and Ethan recently started dating. They have a lot in common and have a lot of fun," the source shared at the time. "They didn't start dating until both were broken up with their significant others. Ariana and Dalton remain friends."
Slater plays Boq in director Jon M. Chu's upcoming adaptation of the beloved musical -- a Munchkin who is deeply in love with (but ultimately, romantically rejected by) Galinda, played by Grande. (Boq later becomes the Tin Man as Wicked sets up the world of The Wizard of Oz.)
The 31-year-old Broadway star -- who grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, before attending Vassar College -- won a Drama Desk Award and was nominated for a Tony in 2018 for his Broadway debut, originating the titular lead role in SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical. He went on to off-Broadway roles in Camelot and Assassins, before being cast in the Wicked adaptation in December 2022.
TMZ, who was first to report the news of the new relationship, shared a picture of the pair together from the Wicked cast's celebration of Michelle Yeoh's Oscar win back in March.
Grande was also photographed on set with an actor that appears to be Slater, in a scene where Galinda's parents are dropping her off at Shiz University.
A source confirmed to ET on July 17 that Grande and Gomez had separated after two years of marriage, noting that the pair -- who tied the knot in May 2021, five months after announcing their engagement -- "ultimately were just not a good fit."
Meanwhile, Slater married his former high school classmate, Lilly Jay, in 2018. The couple welcomed their first child, a son, last year. In November 2022, Slater shared an anniversary tribute to his wife on Instagram, writing, "My best friend. 4 years married, 10 years together. And this is easily the best (and most *bizarre*) year yet." Grande liked the post.
A source close to Jay told ET on July 22 that she was "devastated" by the split and that "this is not the future she had in mind."
"She's doing her best to get back on her feet. She's incredibly smart and driven," the source added. "She is truly the best mother."
On July 26, Slater filed for divorce from Jay in New York City, according to TMZ, who obtained the legal documents.
Following the divorce news, Jay gave an exclusive quote to Page Six, calling her family "collateral damage" in Slater and Grande's new romance.
"[Ariana’s] the story really. Not a girl’s girl," Jay said. "My family is just collateral damage."
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