"Ethan Slater's Ex-Wife Lilly Jay Speaks Out on His Shocking Romance with Ariana Grande!"

SHOWBIZFEATURED

By MS Showbiz desk

12/20/20243 min read

Ethan Slater’s ex-wife, Lilly Jay, has opened up about the emotional turmoil she faced as her ex-husband moved on with his Wicked co-star, Ariana Grande. In a candid essay, Lilly described the "darkness" of watching Ethan’s new romance unfold publicly while she focused on raising their young son, calling it "the saddest days of my life."

Slater, 32, and Grande, 31, first met in 2022 on the British set of the film adaptation of the musical Wicked, while both were married. Ariana plays Glinda, the good witch, alongside Ethan as the munchkin Boq. At the time, Lilly had moved to the UK with their newborn baby to support Ethan during the filming of the movie. Once high school sweethearts, their relationship ended when Ethan left Lilly for Ariana.

“I confidently moved to another country with my 2-month-old baby and my husband to support his career,” Lilly wrote. “Consumed by the magic and mundanity of new motherhood, I didn’t understand the growing distance between us.”

In an essay published in The Cut, Lilly, a clinical psychologist, reflected on navigating life as a single mother and the end of her six-year marriage. She revealed that witnessing Ethan’s global promotion of Wicked alongside Ariana was a painful reminder of the "public downfall" of their marriage.

“There are days when I can’t escape the promotion of a movie associated with the saddest days of my life,” Lilly admitted. She also spoke about the challenges of adjusting to life as a single mother, saying, “In the countless hours I spend rocking my son to sleep, pushing his stroller, and marveling at his sweaty little hands grasping a crayon, I work diligently on my private project of accepting the sudden public downfall of my marriage.”

Despite the heartbreak, Lilly praised Ethan for being a committed co-parent, emphasizing that while their partnership had changed, their shared love for their son remained steadfast. “Both of us fiercely love our son 100 percent of the time, regardless of how our parenting time is divided,” she wrote.

Lilly also reflected on the unexpected impact of the public nature of their divorce on her personal and professional life. She noted that patients at the children’s hospital where she worked remained silent about her personal struggles, offering her a degree of invisibility that she cherished. However, the unwanted publicity of her private life often felt like a challenge.

“If I’m discovered—as what, being vulnerable?—perhaps it could be a point of connection rather than a clinical liability,” she suggested.

In her essay, Lilly acknowledged the difficulty of processing her emotions while facing professional setbacks, including a dissolved job offer and the disappearance of a potential client after a tabloid cycle. On her darkest days, she grappled with the unfairness of a public divorce.

“Slowly but surely, I have come to believe that in the absence of the life I planned with my high school sweetheart, a lifetime of sweetness is waiting for me and my child,” she concluded.

Meanwhile, Ethan and Ariana’s relationship has been heavily scrutinized in the media. Both announced separations from their respective spouses within days of each other in mid-2023. Ethan filed for divorce from Lilly in July 2023, citing irreconcilable differences, and requested joint custody of their son. Ariana finalized her divorce from Dalton Gomez in October 2023, settling with a $1.25 million payment and additional legal fees.

Lilly expressed her grief and frustration, saying, “I 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.”

Ethan has since addressed the backlash surrounding his relationship with Ariana, calling the public scrutiny “really difficult.” Ariana, for her part, defended Ethan in an interview, describing him as someone who “spreads himself thinner than anyone else” to care for his loved ones.

Despite the challenges, Lilly’s focus remains on her son and the life they are building together. She expressed hope for the future, writing, “This, I tell myself, is nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to hide.”