Ahead of the long-anticipated release of Wicked, Ariana Grande is getting candid and offering a rare glimpse into her relationship with her costar, Ethan Slater.
In case you need a refresher, Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater were first romantically linked in the summer of 2023, shortly after she began divorce proceeding with Dalton Gomez, who is now dating Joe Keery's ex Maika Monroe.
Rumors around Grande and Slater's relationship skyrocketed after it was reported that Slater had filed for divorce from his wife, and speculation pretty much followed non-top after that.
Now, Ariana Grande is opening up about her relationship with Ethan Slater for the first time in a new Wicked cover story for Vanity Fair and admitting the news cycle in the early stages of the relationship affected them greatly.
Speaking to VF, Grande said that "seeing some of the negativity that was birthed by disreputable tabloids" was particularly tough and admitted that “it definitely doesn't get any easier.”
She also said that she "went through a lot of life changes during the filming of this movie" and understands "why it was a field day for the tabloids to sort of create something that paid their bills," but she was ultimately distraught with the depiction of Slater throughout the entire situation.
"The most disappointing part was to see so many people believe the worst version of it," Grande admitted. “There couldn't be a less accurate depiction of a human being than the one that the tabloids spread about him.”
While she refused to go into detail about certain allegations, she took the time to sing Slater his praises. “No one on this earth tries harder or spreads themselves thinner to be there for the people that he loves and cares about. There is no one on this earth with a better heart, and that is something that no bullsh*t tabloid can rewrite in real life.”
Grande continued condemning tabloids and how navigating their coverage has greatly affected her personal life. "Honestly, it's taken me a lot of hard work to be able to last this long and to heal certain parts of my relationship to fame and to what I do because of these tabloids that have been trying to destroy me since I was 19 years old," she said. "But you know what? I'm 31 years old and I'm not a perfect person, but I am definitely deeply good, and I'm proud of who I'm becoming. I will never let disreputable evil tabloids ruin my life or my perception of what is real and good."
In an earlier part of the interview, Grande also admitted that "the back-and-forth" of her representation in media has also "been really hard to navigate mentally." She added: “I was this approachable, funny redhead on Nickelodeon and everyone liked me. And then I had one too many hit records, and everyone decided that I was an evil diva. And then other terrible things happened, and all of a sudden I was this hero and this victim.”
Neither Grande nor Slater has publicly commented on their relationship — at least not until now — but the pair have been spotted out and about a lot more this past year.
