Ethan Slater’s ex has this week revealed the ‘dark days’ she experienced while trying to navigate her divorce ‘in the shadow’ of his relationship with Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande’s brother Frankie has posted in support of his sister, after her new boyfriend Ethan Slater’s wife has slammed their union as “disrespectful”.
Ariana, 31, and Ethan, 32, met on the British set of the film adaptation in 2022, when the co-stars were both married. Having gone public with their relationship while promoting Wicked, Ethan’s ex wife Lilly Jay has spoken out about her pain after the dad to her new baby left her for Ariana.
But with criticism of Ariana’s behaviour rising, her brother Frankie Grande, 41, has supported his sister saying he is “proud” of the singer and actress. Ariana shared a photo of her brother on set, writing: “So proud,” before tagging her brother. Frankie reposted her post to his own Story, writing over it: “And I of you… every single day.”
Clinical psychologist Lilly, who was Ethan’s childhood sweetheart, was married to him for six years, with the pair sharing their two-year-old son. She moved to the UK in 2022 to support her husband as he filmed Wicked, in which he plays Boq alongside Ariana.
But after news of their relationship broke, she has this week revealed how she felt she was left “unable to escape” her heartbreak, especially with Ariana and Ethan’s PDAs while on the new musical’s press tour. Although the pair insist they had both already separated, fans are suspicious of the timeline of their controversial relationship. The new couple met in 2022, with Ariana still married to Dalton Gomez. She listed their separation date as 20 February 2023, filing for divorce in September 2023.
Ethan filed for divorce in July 2023, having welcomed his son just before New Year the previous year. He and Lilly had only tied the know five years before, but Ethan cited irreconcilable differences, asking for joint custody of their baby. Their divorce was finalised in September 2023.
A source told the Daily Mail that new mother Lilly, who was in London to support her husband’s work, spent time with Ariana. It was claimed she “hung out” with Lilly and her baby “so many” times, saying how she felt ready to start a family of her own. Ariana even held Ethan and Lilly’s baby. The outlet reports: “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.”
In Lilly’s heartbreaking essay for The Cut, she tells how she never thought she would get divorced, especially “in the shadow of” her husband’s new celebrity relationship. She wrote: “In this season of shock and mourning, over a year after the end of my marriage was made public, I deeply miss the life of invisibility I created for myself as a psychologist specializing in women’s mental health.”
She added that they split their time with their son, writing: “As for me, days with my son are sunny. Days when I can’t escape the promotion of a movie associated with the saddest days of my life are darker.”
Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .
