In a twist that seems to blur the lines between fiction and reality, Slater’s own life mirrored that of his character Boq, who harbors feelings for the enchanting Glinda, played by none other than Ariana Grande. Reports surfaced on July 20, 2023, from TMZ that Grande, fresh from her split with husband Dalton Gomez, was romantically linked to Slater, who was still married at the time. Insiders insisted their relationship began only after Slater’s separation from his wife, Lilly Jay. However, Jay herself painted a different picture, casting a shadow on Slater’s public persona. Let’s delve into the details.

In an exclusive July 2023 interview with Page Six, Dr. Lilly Jay seemed to confirm the swirling rumors about the contentious timeline of Slater and Grande’s romance and her own divorce. “Ariana’s the story, really. Not a girl’s girl. My family is just collateral damage,” Jay remarked, offering a stark critique of Grande’s role in the saga.

Fast forward to December 2024, Dr. Lilly Jay, who is a licensed clinical psychologist, candidly opened up in a personal essay for The Cut. Titled “How Does My Divorce Make You Feel?” the essay divulged further insights into her tumultuous split from Slater. She shared that Slater swiftly moved on with Grande shortly after the birth of their child, a painful revelation for Jay. “I really never thought I would get divorced. Especially not just after giving birth to my first child and especially not in the shadow of my husband’s new relationship with a celebrity,” she reflected in her heartfelt narrative.

But that’s not all. A source close to the situation told Daily Mail that on several occasions Jay, Slater, their infant son, and Grande all hung out together. “Ariana met their baby and even held him. They had dinners together in London — and Ariana told Lilly that she wanted to have a baby one day and that she couldn’t wait to start a family,” the source claimed. The source went on to allege that it wasn’t until later, however, that Jay learned that Slater had been having an affair with Grande. “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 alleged. “She thought they were happy. But that did not work out [because Ariana and Ethan] kept the affair going despite [that].”

It wasn’t until December 2024, however, when Dr. Lilly Jay, a licensed clinical psychologist and the ex-wife and mother of Ethan Slater’s only child, really let it all hang out in a candid personal essay published on The Cut titled “How Does My Divorce Make You Feel?” In the confines of the piece that reads much like a tell-all, Jay revealed even more shady things about the “Wicked” actor, including the not-so small detail that Slater wasted practically no time at all following the birth of their child, quickly moving on to his on-set co-star Ariana Grande. “I really never thought I would get divorced. Especially not just after giving birth to my first child and especially not in the shadow of my husband’s new relationship with a celebrity,” she noted in the piece. 

Alas, perhaps most damning was Jay’s own admission that she willingly moved all the way to the United Kingdom, uprooting not only herself but also their two-month-old child, all in an effort to “support [Slater’s] career.” (Their son was born in August 2022, and filming for “Wicked” began in December 2022, so, uh, we’ll let you do the math on that one.) “Consumed by the magic and mundanity of new motherhood, I didn’t understand the growing distance between us,” she confessed about not recognizing the tell-tale signs of her own divorce in the making. To make matters worse, Jay claimed her career had taken a major hit in the aftermath of her very public and salacious divorce. “I deeply miss the life of invisibility I created for myself as a psychologist specializing in women’s mental health,” she lamented. Conversely, Slater’s star has only continued to rise following his new high-profile romance with Grande. Shady, indeed.