Ethan Slater Says It Was ‘Really Hard’ to See People ‘Speculating’ About His Relationship with Ariana Grande

Ethan Slater is opening up about the effect that rumors about his relationship with girlfriend Ariana Grande have had on him.

In a new interview with GQ published Wednesday, Oct. 30, the 32-year-old actor and singer reflected on his “beautiful” connection with Grande, 31, on the set of Wicked.

But on the flip side, “I think there was something that was really difficult about things in your private life being commented on and looked at by the public,” Slater said.

According to the Broadway vet, “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.”

“But, of course, it was an amazing year and a really beautiful thing,” he added of his relationship with Grande, “and I’m just really excited.”

As Slater told the interviewer, “Some of the hard parts that you’re talking about are the personal-life stuff that everybody in the world goes through. And so I am really focused on the real people in my life, who those things affect, and doing right by every real person and not the Twitter people who comment on it.”

As for Wicked, the first part of which hits theaters next month, “I’m just really, really proud of Ari and the work she’s done on this,” he raved of his girlfriend, who plays Glinda opposite Slater’s Boq.

“She’s poured herself into it,” Slater continued. “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.”

Grande and Slater’s romance was confirmed in July 2023, after they met on the set of Wicked. This came after Grande separated from her now-ex-husband, Dalton Gomez, and Slater separated from his now-ex-wife, Lilly Jay, with whom he shares one son, 2.

Speaking in an interview with Vanity Fair published Sept. 30, Grande revealed she was disappointed by the public perception of Slater: “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 the tabloids spread about him,” the actress and singer added. “No one on this earth tries harder or spreads themselves thinner to be there for the people that he loves and cares about.”

“There is no one on this earth with a better heart, and that is something that no bulls— tabloid can rewrite in real life,” Grande said.

Wicked is in theaters on Nov. 22, with Wicked Part Two scheduled for Nov. 21, 2025.