Did Ariana Grande Finally Wake Up From Her 'Glinda Fever Dream'? Fans Claim She's Dumped Ethan Slater For Good

Ariana Grande's private life is again the subject of feverish online debate as tabloids and TikTok users insist the singer and her Wicked co-star Ethan Slater have hit the rocks.

A swirl of recent reports claims the couple is in a 'rough patch', with anonymous sources telling tabloids that Slater is 'second-guessing' the relationship and struggling to cope with Grande's world.

Supporters and skeptics alike have flooded TikTok and X, turning gossip into trending hashtags and short-form video claims. Yet, when you go back to the primary sources — interviews given by Grande and Slater themselves, as well as the pair's public appearances — the picture is far less definitive.

Tabloid Tales and TikTok Fury

The current chatter traces to recent stories in tabloid outlets and aggregator pages that quote unnamed insiders suggesting Slater is finding the pace of Grande's life 'too much' and has been reflecting on the relationship.

Those pieces have been amplified by TikTok creators and fans, some of whom are reframing Grande's public image as Glinda as a 'fever dream' and using the term to question whether she has outgrown the relationship. Social platforms have a velocity that turns speculation into near-fact for many users, even when sourcing is thin.

Primary interviews present a different tone. In Vanity Fair's cover story, Grande addressed the public scrutiny of her private life and defended Slater against tabloid narratives, saying she found it 'disappointing' that many 'believed the worst version of it' and adding that she 'will never go into certain details'. The piece shows Grande pushing back against characterisations that emerged early in their romance.

Slater has also spoken candidly. In a lengthy GQ profile, he reflected on falling in love while making Wicked and on how the sudden attention was disorienting, calling the year 'a really super big year' and the relationship 'a really beautiful thing'.

Slater repeatedly framed the coverage as painful for the 'real people' around him and declined to indulge tabloid speculation.

Public Appearances and the Likely Reality

Hard evidence of a definitive split is absent. As recently as April 2025, People magazine reported Grande and Slater attended an Off-Broadway performance together and were 'friendly and warm' backstage, an image at odds with claims of an imminent break-up.

The same reporting highlights other public, supportive exchanges: Slater shared celebratory Instagram content when Grande received award attention, and both have been photographed together at industry events. These visible interactions do not prove the absence of private strains, but they do undercut claims that the relationship has been quietly ended.

There are reasons the story trends. Grande's meteoric pop career, her high-profile role as Glinda in Jon M. Chu's adaptation of Wicked, and the morally charged gossip around how any relationship began have long fascinated the public.

Pop culture also prizes clear narratives: hero, villain, fallout, and a messy, nuanced human relationship resists that tidy framing. In short, social media wants resolution; primary sources have provided nuance.

Verdict: Unverified Rumour, Documented Defence

At present, there is no on-record confirmation from Ariana Grande or Ethan Slater that they have separated. What exists are two parallel bodies of evidence: anonymous, second-hand claims in tabloids and viral clips on social platforms, and on-the-record interviews plus recent public appearances that show the couple defending their privacy and, at times, defending one another.

For now, the evidence suggests headline-friendly rumours have raced ahead of verifiable fact: Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater remain a story in flux, not a confirmed split.