In news truly no one was prepared for, Ariana Grande appears to be dating her Wicked costar Ethan Slater. And if your first reaction upon hearing this update was “WHAT DO YOU MEAN?” followed swiftly by “WAIT, WHO,” fret not. Ethan is new to all of us, or at least the portion of the population who didn’t watch The SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage. Anyway, clearly the time has come to get to know Ethan now that he’s in a relationship (apparently?) with Ariana, so here’s the deal.
Ethan Is, Obviously, an Actor
Which you might have picked up due to the fact that 31-year-old Ethan was cast in Wicked, in which he plays Boq. Ethan’s other credits—aside from The SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage—include an episode of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, an episode of Fosse/Verdon, and plenty of theater.
But clearly, Ethan’s most major role (prior to Wicked) was as SpongeBob, which he earned while studying at Vassar. As he told New York Theater Guide, “Even though I’m playing a sponge, I’m also playing a human and a relatable person. That was a challenge that I had to keep on touching base with. When I’m doing a backbend and my head is nearly grazing the floor, I’m still connected to a real emotional place!”
Truly, is there any more powerful start to a sentence than, “Even though I’m playing a sponge?”
Answer: no. Anyway, here are some important tweets showing Ethan’s many layers:
He’s a Tony Nominee, TYVM
Yes, for The SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage.
He’s Fresh Off a 10-Year Relationship
Ethan (who, side note: is from Maryland and went to Vassar College) has been married to singer Lilly Jay since 2018, but they’ve been together for a full 10 years. We know this due to an extremely gushy post on Ethan’s Instagram, where he reportedly wrote, “My best friend. 4 years married, 10 years together. And this is easily the best and most (*bizarre*) year yet.”
Ethan and Lilly also have a son together and celebrated Lilly’s first Mother’s Day this past May, when Ethan wrote, “Happy first Mother’s Day, to the most loving caring and wonderful mom/person in the world, from me and this little guy.”
Fans were also quick to notice (and read into) the fact that Ariana Liked these posts.
He Made His Instagram Private…
…for obvious reasons including but not limited to everyone mining his profile for clues about him and Ariana, and reading into things. ^^^
Ariana and Ethan Started Dating *After* Their Respective Breakups
According to Us Weekly, Ariana and Ethan got together after he broke things off with Lilly, and after Ariana ended things with Dalton Gomez. A source told the outlet, “Ariana and Ethan are dating; however things are fairly new. Ariana and Dalton split in January, and Ethan is separated from his wife. Ariana and Ethan have only recently begun seeing each other but they have a lot of fun together and are enjoying each other’s company.”
Meanwhile, an Entertainment Tonight source said, “Ariana and Ethan recently started dating. They have a lot in common and have a lot of fun. They didn’t start dating until both were broken up with their significant others. Ariana and Dalton remain friends.”
And…that’s pretty much that! You are now an expert in all things Ethan.
Mehera Bonner is a celebrity and entertainment news writer who enjoys Bravo and Antiques Roadshow with equal enthusiasm, She was previously entertainment editor at Marie Claire and has covered pop culture for over a decade.