Ethan Slater has opened up about his relationship with Ariana Grande for the first time since they’ve been linked.
The two met last year on the set of the movie adaptation of Wicked where Ariana plays Glinda the Good Witch and Ethan plays Boq. At the time, both were married to separate people – Ariana to Dalton Gomez and Ethan to his high school sweetheart Lilly Jay – though no evidence of cheating has been made.
Ariana and Ethan filed for divorce from their respective spouses and later went public with their relationship. Due to the circumstances of how they met, the internet went wild with comments and judgement for both Ariana and Ethan.
The former SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical star talked about his very public relationship for the first time in an interview with GQ. “I think there was something that was really difficult about things in your private life being commented on and looked at by the public,” he said.
“Its really hard to see people who dont know anything about whats happening commenting on it and speculating, and then getting things wrong about the people you love,” Ethan admitted. He added that there were “big changes” that went on in both his and Ariana’s life at the time and the speculation online was “really hard.”
Though it was a tough year for the two, they stuck it out and Ethan couldn’t be more proud of his beau. “Im just really, really proud of Ari and the work shes done on this,” he said.
“Im really excited to be there for this next step of it when the world gets to see the amazing thing that she did,” he continued.
While this is the first time Ethan spoke up, the Side to Side singer has shared her thoughts about the public’s reaction to her relationship a few times. In a Vanity Fair interview this past summer, she said: “The most disappointing part was to see so many people believe the worst version of it.”
She stood up for her man, telling the publication: “No one on this earth tries harder or spreads themselves thinner to be there for the people that he loves and cares about.”
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