Ariana Grande is being called out for the way she handled her divorce and new bombshell romance, but it seems that she has a solid defense.
The pop star announced her divorce from husband Dalton Gomez and days later, it was confirmed that she is dating her Wicked co-star, Ethan Slater.
The drama continued after it was revealed that Slater is still married and that he and his wife, Lilly Jay, welcomed a baby earlier this year.
Slater and Jay, who wed in 2018, have been together for a total of ten years. To pile on Ethan Slater, his wife, Lilly Jay, made it known that she was blindsided by the revelation of the romance.
A source close to Jay told Page Six that she was heartbroken by her husband’s decision to leave. The person indicated that all was well between the pair and added: “It’s horrible. They were high school sweethearts. They have a baby! She’s a wreck. He and Ariana have been filming Wicked in London for the past year, and she believes she’s the reason he suddenly broke up now when nothing appeared wrong between them.”
However, another source is defending Grande and Slater. According to Us Weekly, Slater sat down with Jay before his romance with Grande was revealed to the world.
The actor announced to his wife that he was moving on with the pop star.
An insider claimed: “Ethan sat Lilly down a few days before the news broke about him and Ariana and said that he wanted a divorce. Lilly never saw it coming!”
Another person told the media outlet that both Grande and Slater “were separated when they started dating and the relationship is recent. 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.”
A third insider told Us Weekly that Jay was not aware of her husband’s plans to dump her for the “Thank U, Next” singer.
The person claimed that Slater and Grande made no efforts to hide their steamy romance while on the set of Wicked.
The person familiar with the situation claimed: “They’d hold hands on set in between takes. They were sloppy and not hiding it. It seems that the on-set duo was carrying on before Jay even knew what was happening in her marriage miles and miles away.”
It is hard to believe that Slater and Jay had marital woes when he penned this loving message for her in May as she celebrated her first Mother’s Day.
He wrote: “Happy first Mother’s Day to the most loving caring and wonderful mom/person in the world. — from me and this little guy.”
This love triangle will end up in one of Grande’s upcoming songs.
