Ethan Slater opens up about the initial difficulties surrounding his relationship with Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater's romance came on the heels of their divorces, with the pop singer ending her marriage with Dalton Gomez and the actor divorcing his high school sweetheart, Lilly Jay. Naturally, their new relationship was a fuel for speculation online, and Slater opened up about those difficult times in their budding romance.

He told GQ in an October 30, 2024, feature that having his relationship with Grande become a subject of media gossip was "really difficult." Slater said:

"I think there was something that was really difficult about things in your private life being commented on and looked at by the public."

He hinted that there were a lot of changes happening in their lives at the time, and people online commenting about their relationship only made things harder. Ethan Slater added:

"There were a lot of big changes in private lives that were really happening, so it's really hard to see people who don't know anything about what's happening commenting on it."

Ariana Grande shared the same thing during her interview with Vanity Fair in September. The Wicked star defended her boyfriend, saying that "there couldn't be a less accurate depiction of a human being than the one that the tabloids spread about him."

---

Ethan Slater shared excitement over Ariana Grande's movie Wicked, where he also stars in

Besides the rare comment about the challenges in his relationship with Ariana Grande, Ethan Slater also mentioned to GQ magazine that their first year together is still a "beautiful thing" for him. They will both be starring in the upcoming movie adaptation of Wicked, where the Thank You, Next singer stars as Glinda, The Good Witch, and Slater plays Boq. He told GQ:

"It was an amazing year and a really beautiful thing, and I'm just really excited. I'm really, really proud of Ari and the work she's done on this. She's poured herself into it."

Slater added that he's "really proud" to be part of the project. Both he and Ariana Grande have shown support for each other. In the pop star's Vanity Fair interview, she stood by her man, saying that "there is no one on this earth with a better heart" than Slater.

Before his GQ interview, Ethan Slater also shared a clip of his girlfriend singing her song Imperfect for You from her Eternal Sunshine album on his Instagram Story, per GQ. Meanwhile, during the interview, The Designer actor gushed about his talented girlfriend, saying:

"She's such an incredible performer, and I think everyone knows how good she is [as] a recording artist and all that."

However, while Ariana Grande is lauded for her singing, Slater admits that it's her songwriting skills that blow him away. He also revealed that songwriting is something that they have in common, although they do a "different kind of writing." Grande's songwriting credits include her hits 7 Rings and Dangerous Woman as well as other songs like BLACKPINK's Ice Cream and The Weeknd's Save Your Tears (Remix).

As for Ethan Slater, he said that writing songs is mostly for him as it has become his hobby and his "outlet in a lot of ways."

---

Ethan Slater and Ariana Grande's Wicked will drop in movie theaters in the US starting November 22, 2024.