In 2023, Ethan Slater split from his wife of five years, Lilly Jay, following reports that the Tony-nominated actor was dating his Wicked co-star Ariana Grande. The news about Ariana and Ethan‘s romance emerged on July 20, 2023. On July 26, 2023, Ethan filed for divorce from Lilly in New York, according to documents obtained by TMZ.
Now that Wicked has been released in theaters, Lilly has broken her silence over her public divorce in an essay published by The Cut. Without naming Ariana, Lilly opened up about the “public downfall of [her] marriage.”
“Slowly but surely, I have come to believe that in the absence of the life I planned with my high school sweetheart, a lifetime of sweetness is waiting for me and my child,” Lilly wrote. “No one gets married thinking they’ll get divorced, in the same way we don’t board a plane expecting to crash. But I really never thought I would get divorced. Especially not just after giving birth to my first child and especially not in the shadow of my husband’s new relationship with a celebrity.”
Lilly emphasized that she simply misses the “life of invisibility” that she “created for [herself] as a psychologist specializing in women’s mental health.”
Find out more about Lilly and her relationship with Ethan here.
Lilly and Ethan Were High School Sweethearts
While Lilly and Ethan got married in their 20s, they were actually together from a much younger age. It was revealed that they were high school classmates in a 2018 story about Ethan starring in the Spongebob Squarepants Musical on Broadway, per MoCo 360. The pair were engaged at the time. The Drama Desk Award winner revealed that they’d been dating since 2012 in an Instagram post in November 2022. “My best friend. Four years married, 10 years together,” he wrote in the tribute.
Lilly and Ethan Got Married in 2018
After six years together, Lilly and Ethan tied the knot in 2018. At the time, Ethan was starring in The Spongebob Musical as the title character. He also made occasional TV appearances at the time in shows like Law And Order: Special Victims Unit and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Lilly had also been his date to plenty of red carpet events, like the 2018 Tony Awards, where he was nominated for Best Actor In A Musical.
Lilly & Ethan Have a Son Together
After four years of marriage, Lilly and Ethan welcomed their son together in August in an Instagram post with a photo of a “Wicked Cute” onesie. In May 2023, he paid tribute to his wife on Mother’s Day. “Happy first Mother’s Day to the most loving caring and wonderful mom/person in the world, from me and this little guy,” he wrote on Instagram.
Lilly Studied Psychology
After nearly 5 years of hard work, hundreds of hours researching and writing over 200 pages worth of paradigm shifting thought in the field of psychology, my wife finally defended her dissertation. I am so proud of her, and cannot wait to introduce her at parties as kiddo.
— Ethan Slater (@ethansaslater) December 15, 2020
While Ethan mostly kept his relationship with Lilly private, he did tweet congratulations for her after she completed work toward a psychology degree in December 2020. “After nearly 5 years of hard work, hundreds of hours researching and writing over 200 pages worth of paradigm shifting thought in the field of psychology, my wife finally defended her dissertation. I am so proud of her, and cannot wait to introduce her at parties as kiddo,” he wrote.
Lilly Addressed the Reports About Ethan & Ariana
Lilly broke her silence about Ethan and Ariana’s romance on July 27, 2023. “[Ariana’s] the story really. Not a girl’s girl. My family is just collateral damage,” Lilly said. At the time, she also said, “The story is her and Dalton,” speaking about Ariana and her estranged husband Dalton Gomez. Lily also told Page Six that she was focused on being “a good mom” to her and Ethan’s son.