Ariana Grande intends to send her best wishes to her estranged husband Dalton Gomez on his birthday but has no intentions of celebrating with him, a source exclusively reveals to We. (Gomez will be 28 on Monday, August 7.)
The source stated, “Ariana bears no grudges about their breakup and is determined to concentrate on the future, without dwelling on the past. She sincerely wishes him all the best and hopes he has a fantastic birthday.”
In August 2021, Grande, aged 30, extended birthday greetings to Gomez on her Instagram Story, a gesture that followed their marriage by almost three months.
“Happy birthday to my baby my husband my best friend. I love you infinitely,” she wrote alongside a photo of the pair in Amsterdam.
Grande and Gomez announced their separation last month, after being married for a duration of two years. According to a source, the couple had been experiencing difficulties for several months prior to Grande’s departure for Wicked filming in London, and the distance between them further added to their problems.
Several days later, it was revealed that Grande had entered a new romantic relationship with her co-star from Wicked, Ethan Slater.
According to an exclusive source, “Ariana and Ethan are in a relationship, although it is still in its early stages. Ariana ended her relationship with Dalton in January, while Ethan is currently separated from his wife.” The source further added, “Ariana and Ethan have recently started spending time together, and they truly enjoy each other’s company, having a great time together.”
Slater, 31, best known for his role as SpongeBob SquarePants in the Broadway musical of the same name, officially filed for divorce from his wife Lilly Jay later that month. The couple, who were high school sweethearts, got married in July 2018 and welcomed their first child, a son, in August 2022.
While both Grande and Slater have not spoken publicly about their relationship, Jay, 30, expressed her disapproval of her estranged husband’s new romance during an interview with Page Six last month. “Ariana is really the focus here. She’s not a supporter of other women. My family is just caught in the crossfire,” she stated. “The real story revolves around her and Dalton.”
Gomez, on the other hand, is struggling to accept the fact that his marriage with Grande has ended, according to an exclusive source that spoke to Us in July.
The source further revealed that Dalton, despite being aware of Ariana’s connection with Ethan, still holds onto the possibility of salvaging their relationship. On one hand, he wants to respect Ariana’s need for space, but on the other hand, he has been attempting to maintain communication with her.
Grande and Slater’s former partners are adapting to their own breakups while being cautioned to slow down their relationship. According to an exclusive source on August 2, Ariana has been advised not to disclose their relationship publicly yet and to proceed with caution. She is conscious of the way her fans perceive her and is making an effort to act maturely. However, if it were solely up to her, she would choose to be seen with him as soon as tomorrow.
According to an insider, the close associates of the pair have advised them to show respect due to the presence of a family. The source revealed that significant developments are occurring privately, even though they appear to be distancing themselves publicly.
Ariana Grande and her boyfriend Ethan Slater went on ‘multiple double dates’ with their respective spouses even while carrying on their own romance, an insider has revealed – as images and video show the pair looking incredibly intimate, months before their relationship was made public.
The couple’s surprise romance was revealed to the world just a few weeks ago – days after it was announced that Ariana, 30, had split from Dalton Gomez, her husband of just two years.
However, a source has now alleged that Ariana and Ethan, 31 – who recently filed for divorce from wife Lilly Jay, with whom he has an 11-month-old baby – were involved romantically for months before the world found out about their relationship, having grown close while on the set of their upcoming movie.
Furthermore, the insider says that the pair were so open with their romance during filming that the majority of the Wicked cast were aware that they were in a relationship.
‘They were sloppy on set,’ the insider shared. ‘They were seen being all over each other while he was still supposedly happily married to Lilly.
‘They were seen making out at a pub in Hampstead, and they were all over each other at Michelle Yeoh’s Oscar party [in March].’
Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater (seen in March) went on ‘multiple double dates’ with their respective spouses even while carrying on their own romance, an insider has revealed
The insider also claimed that the pair (seen on May 31) were so open with their romance during filming that the majority of the Wicked cast were aware that they were in a relationship
Aerial images taken on the set of the movie on May 31 – over a month before it was revealed Ariana, 30, and Ethan, 31, are dating – show the pair strolling towards their trailers together
In December 2022, Ethan announced that he was cast alongside Ariana in Wicked by posting this photo on social. Ariana shared a photo at the time wearing the same pair of dancing shoe
Social media video posted from that party – which took place on March 27 – shows Ariana and Ethan looking very intimate while preparing to take a photo with their fellow Wicked co-stars, while other images snapped on the set of the movie capture them heading towards the trailers together, where the source alleges they spent time away from prying eyes.
Aerial images taken on the set of the movie on May 31 – over a month before it was revealed Ariana and Ethan are dating – show the pair strolling towards their trailers together.
On June 27 – weeks before either of them announced their separations from their respective spouses – Ariana was spotted with her arm around Ethan at private members’ club Soho Farmhouse in the UK, where they celebrated her 30th birthday.
However, even as these images and videos were being captured, the source further alleges that Ariana and Ethan went on ‘multiple’ double dates with Dalton and Lilly whenever they visited their spouses on the set.
‘Ariana and Dalton went on double dates with Ethan and Lilly several times – and they were seen out by cast members,’ the source said. ‘Lilly and Ethan also met Ariana’s family together, including her mom and her brother.’
A source close to Ariana and Ethan has previously claimed that the singer ‘hung out’ with Lilly and her newborn baby multiple times before her romance with her co-star was revealed – and even told those around her how much she ‘wanted a baby one day’ after bonding with Lilly and Ethan’s.
Ariana shocked fans on July 17 by announcing she and husband Dalton Gomez, 28 – who she married in 2021 – had split. She’s since removed all photos of him from Instagram
Lilly Jay, 31, and Ethan – who married four years ago after meeting in 2012 – welcomed a son last August. ‘I am focused on rebuilding a life for our son,’ she told DailyMail.com
Shortly after her last visit to London, Lilly learned that her husband was dating Ariana. They allegedly tried to fix their broken marriage for a short time after Lilly learned of his feelings for Ariana, to no avail.
‘There was a period when they were all going to try and work on their marriages and put the whole thing behind them,’ the source said. ‘She thought they were happy.
‘But that did not work out [because Ariana and Ethan] kept the affair going despite [that].’
The insider said that Ethan then blindsided his wife by filing for divorce, insisting that the decision to officially end the marriage was made entirely by the actor.
‘Lilly did not file for divorce from Ethan, he filed for divorce from her,’ they continued.
The source noted that Lilly believes her husband was ‘starstruck’ by Ariana and that he was bowled over by the glamour of being on a movie set with so many major stars for the very first time.
However, a second source close with knowledge of the situation defended Ethan, insisting that he and Ariana ‘did not start dating until after he had separated from Lilly.’
Last month, in the wake of her ex-husband filing for divorce, Lilly spoke exclusively to DailyMail.com, revealing that she is attempting to move past her heartbreak and instead focus on raising her son as a single mother.
‘I am focused on rebuilding a life for our son. This is what I am trying to do and this is my only focus,’ she said.
Ariana ‘hung out’ with Ethan and his wife during her visit to London in April and even met the couple’s son. Seen here, the new lovers looked happy posing together on Instagram
DailyMail.com obtained this photo – showing Ariana and Ethan celebrating her 30th birthday together in the British countryside on June 27 – weeks before they announced their splits
Currently, Ariana and Ethan are on opposite coasts. Ariana headed to Los Angeles over the weekend, while Broadway actor Ethan is still in New York, where he filed for divorce last week from Lilly.
Divorce papers for Ariana and Dalton – who she married in 2021 – have not yet been filed.
This is not the first time that Ariana has faced allegations of infidelity, which began with her ex Jai Brooks, who accused the Thank U Next singer of cheating on him in 2013 with frontman for The Wanted, Nathan Sykes.
‘Yes I was cheated on. Yes it does suck. Yes I was left for another man,’ the post read.
He went on to say he was ‘a miserable wreck’ and explained: ‘Like anyone who has been cheated on, it has been tough for me but I’m finally ready to move on.’
Ariana’s relationship with Nathan was short-lived and the following year, in 2014, Ariana started dating Big Sean – while he was engaged to late Glee star Naya Rivera.
In her autobiography, Naya wrote, ‘We’d been fighting for five straight days while he was traveling, and then on the one day that he was back in L.A., he said he didn’t want to see me.’
‘Well, a‑‑hole, I’ve got a key to your house,’ she wrote. ‘I walk in, go downstairs, and guess what little girl is sitting cross-legged on the couch listening to music? … It rhymes with ‘Smariana Schmande.”‘
Ariana denied the relationship and claimed that she hadn’t started dating Big Sean until after he was split with Naya.
In 2016, Ariana began dating DJ Mac Miller and the two stayed together until 2018.
Three weeks after Ariana and Mc split, she confirmed that she was in a relationship Pete Davidson, who she became engaged to several weeks after they first started dating, leading to widespread accusations that she was unfaithful.
In September 2018, Mac died of a drug overdose at his home in L.A., which caused Ariana and Pete to pull the plug on their relationship.
In an interview Pete said, ‘I pretty much knew it was around over after that. That was really horrible, and I can’t imagine what that s*** is like. All I do know is that she really loved the s*** out of him and she wasn’t putting on a show or anything.’
