Ariana Grande's Boyfriend Ethan Slater Has Fans Divided Over His Suddenly Changing Public Image

Wicked mania has officially arrived, and everyone is ready to don their pink and green in honor of Glinda and Elphaba. Still, the release of the film on Nov. 22 also brings new scrutiny to Ariana Grande‘s relationship with boyfriend Ethan Slater. 

The couple’s romance began on the set in London, but the timeline is still being debated by fans. When they both arrived to film the Wizard of Oz origin story, Grande was married to Dalton Gomez and Slater was married to his high school sweetheart, Lilly James, and dad to their young son, now two years old. The duo denied that any affair happened, and that they were both separated when their love blossomed, Still, other sources discredit their claims. 

Slater’s appearance at Wicked‘s Sydney, Australia premiere on Nov. 3 had fans divided over whether he deserved a redemption arc. Many people are pointing to the 32-year-old actor’s sweet interaction with the crowds on the red carpet. 

One X user wrote along with the video clip, “Ethan Slater seems like the kindest and most genuine person. The world owes him an apology.” Another fan added, “thank GOD for this ethan slater press tour. yall need to recognize he is adorable idk what planet ur on.” Another account acknowledged the issue but gave Slater some grace, writing, “Can everybody just leave Ethan Slater alone? Yes, he made a mistake. And I’m sure he’s paid for his mistake. But it’s been a year. And he’s in a film that we’ve been waiting years for. Mistakes don’t define who we are as long as we learn from them or try to learn from them.”

Of course, there are plenty of people who are thinking about Gomez and Jay’s feelings in this complicated situation. One person wrote, “I’m going to need y’all short attention span asses to stop posting Ethan Slater like he’s an innocent vulnerable man. Y’all lose the plot everyday and wonder why no one takes the social media uproar/tantrums yall throw every week seriously.” Another shared their anger, “The current love for Ethan Slater tells me that all you guys’ outrage and cancel culture is purely performative and you don’t actually give a s**t about people doing wrong unless the internet is telling you that you have to. He cheated on his postpartum wife with his coworker.”

No matter how the fans feel, Slater’s priority is his lady as they embark on a global press tour. He gushed about her in a GQ profile even though the media outlet was trying to get him to reflect on the affair allegations. “I’m just really, really proud of Ari and the work she’s done on this. She’s poured herself into it,” he praised the “Bang Bang” singer. “I’m really proud that I got to be there for that part of it, and I’m really excited to be there for this next step of it when the world gets to see the amazing thing that she did.”

The relationship timeline questions might never be answered in public, and fans are going to have to make that call for themselves.

Before you go, click here to see all the celebrity couples who met on set.