This situation between Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater just got a whole lot messier!
As you know, fans were shocked this month when reports came out that the 30-year-old singer was separated from her husband Dalton Gomez. But that was only the beginning of the story. Days after the news broke, it was revealed Ariana had recently moved on with Ethan, her Wicked co-star. A lot of negative attention has been on her new relationship, though. Why is that? Beyond the fact that her divorce news just came out, the timeline of this romance has been very sus.
The 31-year-old Broadway star was married to his high school sweetheart Lilly Jay. Things seemed great between them while he was working on Wicked. He even praised her for being such a “caring and wonderful” wife in May. So given these details, many were suspicious when the news suddenly broke of his relationship with Ariana and his breakup with Lilly.
Related: Ethan Slater’s Friends Are Worried About Ariana Hurting HIM?!
While multiple sources have insisted things between Ariana and Ethan didn’t start until they were separated from their respective partners, that seems very far from the truth. A source for Us Weekly claimed he only came clean about his affair with Ariana before the relationship news dropped. Ethan also told Lilly then he wanted to get a divorce. Meaning the actor was not only allegedly still with his wife when he was dating Ariana, but he only fessed up to it once her breakup with Dalton was revealed. He knew he was about to get caught, you guys! Ugh.
And now more evidence has been brought forth to support the fact that Ethan and Ariana were having an alleged affair. And y’all, this love square situation is more messed up than we thought! According to Dailymail.com on Thursday, a source close to Ariana and Ethan claimed that the Thank U, Next songstress “hung out” with Lilly, Ethan, and their newborn son Ezra a lot – all while having an allegedly illicit relationship with her husband! AWFUL!
“Lilly hung out with Ethan and Ariana so many times. 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.”
Following one of her and Ezra’s trips to London to be with Ethan on set in April of this year, Lilly found out about him cheating on her with Ariana! So she not only got close to Ariana, it seemed, but she let her close to her son, all while the artist was involved with her husband. Lilly must have been so gutted at the time!
Instead of divorcing Ethan right then and there, the two allegedly decided to try and “put it behind him and work on their marriage.” In fact, that was when Ariana also chose to give things another shot with Dalton. But she and Ethan weren’t willing to give up their romance – even while working on their marriages:
“There was a period when they were all going to try and work on their marriages and put the whole thing behind them. She thought they were happy. But that did not work out [because Ariana and Ethan] kept the affair going despite [that].”
Terrible. So why was Ethan ruining his family for Ariana? Lilly allegedly believes he was “starstruck” by Ariana and the glitz and glamor of being a part of a huge movie for the first time:
“He was starstruck, he was a new dad in a new country who had never been on a major movie set before.”
That doesn’t excuse him from cheating on his wife and the mother of his infant child…
The source added that Ethan blindsided her with the divorce filing this week, noting it was completely his decision, not hers. That being said, Lilly is not willing to reconcile with the Spongebob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical star this time:
“Lilly never wanted to be a part of [the celebrity] world. She doesn’t want her name or her child’s name dragged into this. She is now raising her son as a single mother and there is no chance of redemption for Ethan as far as she is concerned. What this has done to her family is absolutely disgusting.”
No one would blame her for being done with Ethan, especially since he continued his affair while attempting to work on their marriage! Talk about being stabbed in the back by a partner. She even suggested as much, telling the Dailymail.com in a statement that she was only focused on their son right now:
“I am focused on rebuilding a life for our son and rebuilding a life for him. This is what I am trying to do and this is my only focus.”
We cannot imagine the toll this situation has had on Lilly. Our heart breaks for her that’s for sure. Reactions to the latest, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments below.
[Image via Joseph Marzullo/WENN, Andres Otero/WENN]