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Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater are “relieved” after his ex-wife Lilly Jay went easy on them in her essay!
If you missed it, the clinical psychologist reflected on her high-profile divorce in a new essay for New York Magazine‘s newsletter One Great Story and published in The Cut last week. While she didn’t specifically call out her ex and his new girlfriend for a rumored affair, she did hint at the rumors by saying how blindsided she was by his decision to leave shortly after she’d given birth to their son. She also addressed how the headlines impacted her career. You can read more HERE.
Related: Ariana Grande Swoons Over BF Ethan Slater In Rare Comment!
The essay was very well written and reminded fans — some of whom had just started to be won over by the actor — of the sus timing of his new romance with the pop star, leading to lots of new backlash. Despite this, Ethan and Ariana are actually feeling relieved Lilly didn’t drag them more!
A source told DailyMail.com on Friday that “they’re relieved that Lilly didn’t throw them under the bus,” they added:
“Ethan and Ariana are fully aware of what happened, as is everyone who was around at the time. [Lilly] made it clear that she moved to London with him and the timeline from that point forward speaks for itself.”
Ariana and Ethan may be “fully aware” of the timeline, but they have so far denied any cheating speculation — despite the timeline of everything! News of their romance hit the headlines just DAYS after her split from Dalton Gomez was announced. You don’t move on that fast without some lines being crossed, you know?
On why Lilly didn’t open up about the affair rumors more directly, the source continued:
“Filming was still occurring when they were first seen being intimate in photos and Lilly was no longer there so people can put two and two together — Lilly didn’t need to.”
But she also couldn’t! The source said that the co-parent’s divorce agreement “restricted [Jay] from disclosing certain details about the events that transpired” around their breakup. So, there’s a reason she didn’t get into the nitty-gritty! She was banned from it! The insider continued:
“During the legal proceedings, Lilly was essentially silenced, unable to speak freely. Despite the circumstances, she came out of the divorce a winner.”
The agreement didn’t stop her from “expressing her emotions surrounding the ordeal,” which is exactly what she did, and it was enough to generate some more bad press for the Spamalot performer and show just how difficult this split really was. While she was restricted from fully spilling the tea on her split, the insider did commend her for choosing not to discuss “the affair,” noting it “showed dignity.” They explained:
“She knows that one day her son will read about this online and she wanted him to read that her first and only words on this were done so in a respectful and classy manner.”
Lilly did seemingly take a swipe at her high school sweetheart by making a “sponge” analogy, the confidant pointed out:
“The ‘sponge’ analogy was a subtle jab at the situation, but now that her story is out, she feels liberated.”
In the essay, she wrote:
“You know how a sponge is most effective at absorbing liquid when it’s already a bit wet? Maybe we can think about my messy not-so-personal life in that way: a dose of my own loss, rage, powerlessness, sadness that helps me hold yours.”
Ethan famously portrayed SpongeBob SquarePants in the Broadway musical, which is why the whole “sponge” reference could be seen as a nod to him. Subtle.
As for why Lilly waited this long to speak out, the source continued:
“Though she was approached by nearly every media outlet, Lilly didn’t want to give an interview until she was ready. She wanted to control her own narrative and tell her story on her terms. And she did just that.”
If Ariana and Ethan are so “relieved” she didn’t say more, then that certainly suggests there’s a lot more to the story than they’re claiming!
Thoughts?! Sound OFF (below).
[Image via MEGA/Phil Lewis/Joseph Marzullo/WENN]
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