US singer-songwriter Ariana Grande arrives for the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards on January 26, 2020, in Los Angeles. (Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP) (Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)
More and more, it looks like Ariana Grande and her new boyfriend Ethan Slater didn’t wait until they were officially “separated” from their respective spouses to begin dating.
Instead, it’s alleged that the pop singer and the up-and-coming Broadway actor became romantically involved not long after they began working together on the film “Wicked” in the U.K, with a report Thursday saying they went on “multiple” double-dates with their respective spouses, then were “sloppy” on the set when their spouses weren’t around and were spotted making out at an Oscar party March.
Grande and Slater’s surprise romance was revealed a few weeks ago, days after news emerged that Grande, 30, had split from her real estate agent husband, Dalton Gomez, after just two years of marriage. The world soon learned that the internationally famous Grande had a new boyfriend: a little known Broadway actor best known for starring in a musical adaptation of the kids’ cartoon, “SpongeBob SquarePants.”
Grande and Slater are still “100% dating,” even though they haven’t been in the same city for several weeks, TMZ reported earlier this week. Grande, in Los Angeles, is giving Slater, in New York, “space” to deal with his divorce from Lilly Jay, his wife of four years and the mother of his 1-year-old son.
Sources initially told entertainment sites that Grande and Slater only started to see each other after he became officially separated from Lilly Jay, his wife of four years and the mother of his 1-year-old son. After Slater filed for divorce last week, a source insisted to TMZ that he and Jay had been separated for some time, while a source told Entertainment Weekly that he and Grande didn’t start dating until “both were broken up with their significant others.” .
But other reports allege that Grande and Slater have been romantically involved for a while.
“Ariana and Dalton went on double dates with Ethan and Lilly several times – and they were seen out by cast members,” a source told the Daily Mail for a report Thursday. “Lilly and Ethan also met Ariana’s family together, including her mom and her brother.”
This insider also said that the majority of the “Wicked” cast were aware of the alleged affair.
“They were sloppy on set,” the insider told the Daily Mail. “‘They were seen being all over each other while he was still supposedly happily married to Lilly.” The two also were seeing “making out at a pub in Hampstead, and they were all over each other at Michelle Yeoh’s Oscar party (in March),” the insider said.
Us Weekly also reported last week that the pair didn’t hide their feelings for each other in front of other members of the cast and crew.
“Ariana and Ethan weren’t careful,” a source told Us Weekly. “They’d hold hands on set in between takes.”
A source close to Grande and Slater previously told the Daily Mail that the two “hung out” with Jay and her baby multiple times when Jay visited from the United States. This was before Jay knew that her husband was allegedly cheating, with Grande telling people how much she, too, “wanted a baby one day.”
In another report, the Daily Mail said that Jay eventually learned about the affair, confronted Slater and the two agreed to work on their marriage. Jay understood that her husband, who had been her high school sweetheart, was “starstruck” by Grande and bowled over by the glamour of being on a movie set with major stars for the very first time, the Daily Mail also said.
A source told Us Weekly that Jay only learned that Slater wanted a divorce right before news broke of his relationship with Grande.
“Ethan sat Lilly down a few days before the news broke about him and Ariana and said that he wanted a divorce,” the source revealed. “Lilly never saw it coming!” TMZ also reported last week that Jay was “devastated that her family’s been torn apart” and feels that Slater has “abandoned his family.”
Originally published at Martha Ross