Why Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater Secretly Called It Quits Before Her Tour Kicked Off

Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater quietly ended their relationship several months before her Eternal Sunshine tour began in June, according to a new report, with sources saying the former Wicked co-stars remain friends and continue to support each other's work.

The public appearances that suggested Ariana and Ethan were still together, from Wicked premieres to theatre outings in New York. Their split, revealed in a report by People magazine on Monday, is said to have been deliberate rather than dramatic, the product of long conversations rather than a single rupture. Nothing about the timeline has been confirmed by either of them, so the details being circulated for now should be taken with a degree of caution.

An unnamed insider told People that the pair 'gave lots of time and careful consideration and decided to go their separate ways,' describing the break-up as 'amicable.' The same source stressed that they have been 'quietly broken up for several months' and that they remain 'very supportive of one another.' For a couple whose relationship had been scrutinised from the start, the decision to draw the curtain in private is telling.

The insider also painted a picture of a singer who has pivoted quickly back to work. Grande is described as 'doing great,' with her attention largely on the Eternal Sunshine tour and on her next studio album, Petal, due on 31 July. Her schedule over the summer suggests that, whatever happened between Ariana and Ethan, there is little space being left for public soul-searching.

How Ariana Grande And Ethan Slater Went From Co-Stars To A Quiet Split

The pair first met on the set of the two-part film adaptation of Wicked. Grande was cast as Glinda, the good witch, opposite Cynthia Erivo's Elphaba, while Slater took on the role of Boq. The first film arrived in cinemas on 22 November 2024, with the second following on 21 November 2025, cementing both actors at the centre of one of the decade's biggest musical franchises.

Romantic rumours surfaced in July 2023 but, in a pattern that would become familiar, neither rushed to confirm anything. They did not make the relationship Instagram official until November 2024, by which point they were already fixtures on the Wicked promotion circuit, posing on red carpets and fielding questions about working together.

When Grande finally spoke openly about him in 2024, it was to praise his craft rather than dwell on their private life. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, she called Slater 'such an amazing person' and added that he was 'always adorable' and 'so amazing in this film.' 'I'm so happy people are getting to know him. My heart is very happy,' she said at the time. That warmth sits awkwardly, in hindsight, against the knowledge that the relationship would not last three full years.

Slater returned the favour publicly in November 2025 at the New York premiere of Wicked: For Good, telling Extra that Grande's performance in the film was 'out of this world.' The exchange became part of a pattern: a couple intensely conscious of each other's professional lives, and apparently determined to make that admiration visible.

Career First: Inside Ariana Grande And Ethan Slater's Post-Breakup Focus

Even as their relationship was winding down, both actors seemed intent on championing each other's projects. In March 2026, Grande used her Instagram Stories to mark the final performance of Slater's off-Broadway play Marcel on the Train, which he co-wrote and starred in. 'Congratulations on a beautiful run of this very beautiful show,' she wrote on 22 March, adding that she was 'so very proud,' according to People's reporting. If the split had already taken place by then, it was not obvious from her tone.

On her own side, Grande has been rolling out a new musical chapter. In May 2026, she released 'Hate That I Made You Love Me,' a vulnerable single that many listeners instantly tried to map onto her private life. On the track, she sings about holding 'projections' and questioning why people 'so hate to see women endure,' before pushing back at the idea that she is to blame for others giving her their hearts 'of [their] own accord.' There is no direct evidence the song refers to Slater or to any specific ex, and without confirmation from Grande herself, any attempt to tie the lyrics to this latest split remains speculative.

In April, when she formally unveiled Petal, Grande described the album title as representing 'something that is full of life and growing through the cracks of something cold and hard and challenging.' It is a line that inevitably invites interpretation in light of the break-up, though again, the only confirmed meaning is the one she has chosen to share.

Her calendar over the coming months suggests there will be little time to dwell on past relationships. The Eternal Sunshine tour opened on 6 June at Oakland Arena in California and runs through to 1 September, closing at London's O2 Arena. Between dates, she is keeping her foothold in acting, with roles lined up in the comedy Focker-in-Law, the next season of American Horror Story and the animated adaptation of Dr Seuss's Oh, the Places You'll Go!.

She is also set to reunite with another Wicked colleague, Jonathan Bailey, in a West End production of Sunday in the Park with George next year. If there is a single constant in the story of Ariana and Ethan's relationship and its end, it is that work keeps moving forward, even when the credits have already rolled on the romance.