Ethan Slater and Ariana Grande have ended their relationship after nearly three years together, according to a source close to the couple. The pair, who met on the set of the upcoming Wicked film adaptation, are said to have parted ways amicably and remain friends.
The source told the Daily Mirror: "It's amicable, they gave lots of time and careful consideration and decided to go their separate ways. They are still friends and very supportive of one another. They have been quietly broken up for several months."
The news of their split has prompted the resurfacing of a scathing open letter written by Slater's ex-wife, Dr Lilly Jay, shortly after their relationship was made public. In the letter, Jay expressed her shock at the end of her marriage, particularly after the birth of her first child and in the shadow of her husband's new relationship with a celebrity.
Jay wrote: "No one gets married thinking they’ll get divorced, in the same way we don’t board a plane expecting to crash. But 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."
The timing of Slater and Grande's relationship reportedly caused concern for Universal Pictures, the studio behind Wicked. An insider claimed that studio executives were "extremely worried" about the potential impact on the film's prospects and advised the couple to "disappear for six months" to allow the controversy to subside ahead of the premiere.
