Inside Wicked Costars Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater’s Magical Romance

Ethan Slater Addresses His Relationship With Ariana Grande for the First Time

One abbreviated day, not successful the Emerald City but connected a Zoom call, Ariana Grande learned she’d been formed arsenic Glinda successful the movie adaptation of the musical Wicked.

“I spot [director] Jon M. Chu pop up, and I go, ‘OK, well, this is either it oregon the worst mode ever to fto idiosyncratic down,’” the singer, who spent months preparing for the auditions, told Rotten Tomatoes. “I was shaking. My assemblage was conscionable instantly successful combat oregon flight. I was retired of assemblage watching the full infinitesimal from above. I’ve ne'er felt that mode successful my life.”

And erstwhile Ariana recovered out Cynthia Erivo was playing chap pb Elphaba, she had, arsenic she enactment it, “another collapse” of axenic joy.

The casting of the 2 stars—who’ve detailed the sisterhood they formed portion moving connected the two-part movie—was announced successful November 2021. Thirteen months later, quality broke that Ethan Slater was joining the ensemble of The Wizard of Oz prequel, which explores Glinda and Elphaba’s relationship earlier they were dubbed Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.

While rehearsals had already begun astatine this point, filming didn’t commencement until aboriginal that year. In April 2023, Ariana confirmed connected Instagram they were halfway done. 

Reflecting connected however being successful Oz was a “life changing” experience—one successful which she was “feeling, learning and increasing truthful overmuch astatine specified a disarming speed”—the Grammy victor aboriginal noted successful her station that she was “transforming and healing parts of maine that I ne'er knew needed it. Or possibly did.”

Ariana Grande Addresses Criticism Amid Ethan Slater Romance

Though she noted she “will ne'er spell into definite details,” she made it clear that erstwhile it comes to the Spamalot alum, “No 1 connected this world tries harder oregon spreads themselves thinner to beryllium determination for the radical that helium loves and cares about.” 

“There is nary 1 connected this world with a amended heart,” Ariana continued, “and that is thing that nary bulls--t tabloid tin rewrite successful existent life.”

And portion determination was a clip when, arsenic she erstwhile enactment it connected Instagram, she was “feeling truthful profoundly misunderstood by radical who don’t cognize me, who portion whispers unneurotic and their assumptions of my life,” it appears that cipher successful all of Oz the internet, no wizard rumor that determination is oregon was is ever gonna bring her down. 

“Honestly, it’s taken maine a batch of hard enactment to beryllium capable to past this agelong and to heal definite parts of my narration to fame and to what I bash due to the fact that of these tabloids that person been trying to destruct maine since I was 19 years old,” Ariana told Vanity Fair. “But you cognize what? I’m 31 years aged and I’m not a cleanable person, but I americium decidedly profoundly good, and I’m arrogant of who I’m becoming. I volition ne'er fto disreputable evil tabloids ruin my beingness oregon my cognition of what is existent and good.”

So Ariana and Ethan—dad to a 2-year-old son—continue to defy critics by conscionable surviving their life. Over the past year, the 2 person enjoyed Disney dates, trips to the theater, dinner outings and hockey games. Ethan has adjacent met Ariana’s family, including her member Frankie Grande.

“He's precise very precise sweet. I just, I adore him,” the Rock of Ages prima told TooFab successful June. “I, honestly I've ever conscionable said this, each I privation is for my sister to beryllium blessed and erstwhile she's blessed I’m happy. So I'm precise happy.”

Ariana and Ethan are besides blessed to enactment each different successful their careers. For instance, she cheered him connected during his show in Spamalot, and he’s shown emotion for some her Saturday Night Live hosting gig successful October and her now-Grammy nominated album eternal sunshine.

“She’s specified an amazing performer, and I deliberation everyone knows however bully she is [as] a signaling creator and each that—but I’m conscionable truly blown distant by the songwriting,” Ethan told GQ in an October illustration portion discussing “Imperfect You,” a way that’s near galore fans wondering if it was written for him. “I emotion that song.”

“But, of course, it was an astonishing twelvemonth and a truly beauteous thing,” helium continued, “and I’m conscionable truly excited. I’m conscionable really, truly arrogant of Ari and the enactment she’s done connected this. She’s poured herself into it. I’m truly arrogant that I got to beryllium determination for that portion of it, and I’m truly excited to beryllium determination for this adjacent measurement of it erstwhile the satellite gets to spot the astonishing happening that she did.”

And if you consciousness similar you’ve been changed for bully by Ethan and Ariana’s romance, support speechmaking to larn much astir their relationship.