Celebrity Celebrity Relationships Who Is Ariana Grande's Boyfriend? All About Her 'Wicked' Costar Ethan Slater Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater both star in the movie adaptation of 'Wicked' By Kelsie Gibson Kelsie Gibson Kelsie Gibson is the SEO Editor of PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2021. She was formerly at POPSUGAR, Bustle, Tiger Beat and Her Campus. People Editorial Guidelines Updated on October 31, 2024 07:51AM EDT Ariana Grande is so into Ethan Slater. In July 2023, PEOPLE learned that the pop star and her Wicked costar were dating. The news of their relationship broke just days after PEOPLE confirmed that Grande had split from her then-husband, Dalton Gomez. That same month, Slater filed for divorce from his now ex-wife, Lilly Jay. The former couple, who welcomed a son in August 2022, eventually finalized their divorce in September 2024. “People have tried to question the timeline. The truth is, Ariana and Ethan didn’t begin seeing each other until after both parties were separated, respectfully," a source told PEOPLE in September 2023. Here’s everything to know about Ariana Grande’s boyfriend. He stars opposite Ariana Grande in Wicked Michelle Yeoh/Instagram Slater was first confirmed to star in the Wicked movie in December 2022, almost a year after Grande’s casting was announced. Grande plays Glinda opposite Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba, and Slater plays Boq, whose character has a crush on Glinda but eventually becomes the romantic interest of Elphaba’s younger sister Nessarose. In December 2022, Chu confirmed that filming had begun in the U.K., which is presumably when Grande and Slater first met. He’s best known for his role as SpongeBob SquarePants Jenny Anderson/Getty Like Grande, Slater has roots on Broadway and connections to Nickelodeon. The actor originated the role of SpongeBob SquarePants in the 2017 Broadway musical of the same name, for which he received a Tony nomination and won a Drama Desk Award. He went to Vassar College Ethan Slater. Cindy Ord/Getty Slater attended Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School and Georgetown Day School before attending Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. He was a sophomore at the school when he booked SpongeBob SquarePants; he previously told PEOPLE landing the role “was a stroke of luck,” after meeting the casting director during a theater apprenticeship. He was married before dating Ariana Grande Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty In November 2018, Slater married his high school sweetheart, Lilly Jay, whom he had been dating since 2012. Throughout the course of their relationship, Jay supported Slater at various industry events, including the 2018 Tony Awards, where he was nominated for best performance by a leading actor in a musical for his role in SpongeBob SquarePants. Shortly after PEOPLE confirmed that Slater was dating Grande, the actor filed for divorce from Jay on July 26, 2023. "[Ariana’s] the story really. Not a girl’s girl,” Jay told Page Six. “My family is just collateral damage.” The exes eventually reached a divorce settlement in September 2024. He is a dad In January 2023, Slater revealed that he and Jay had welcomed their first child by sharing a photo of a onesie that read “Wicked Cute.” “Super vague post, but we have a baby now,” he wrote, later confirming on Mother’s Day that they’d welcomed a son. While speaking to GQ in October 2024, Slater called being a dad "the best thing in the world." He added that co-parenting with Jay has been "an interesting thing to navigate as a new parent." He and Grande attended the 2024 Stanley Cup Final Elsa/Getty The couple were spotted at game one of the Stanley Cup Final in June 2024. Grande and Slater, who were decked out in Florida Panthers gear, watched the team face off against the Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida.