Ariana Grande's boyfriend Ethan Slater is still in the process of divorcing Lilly Jay

"He's eager to get things finalised."

Ethan Slater (R) attends the 72nd Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 10, 2018 in New York City.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Ariana Grande's boyfriend Ethan Slater is not divorced yet, according to reports. A source told Us Weekly that the SpongeBob star and his estranged wife Lilly Jay are 'still in the mediation phase' and added: "[Things] haven’t been finalised yet."

According to the source, Ethan is keen for things to be done and dusted so that he can fully enjoy his relationship with Ariana.

"Ethan and Ariana are living together at her place and are very happy, but he’s eager to get things finalised with the divorce," the insider continued. "He wants the option to propose [to Ariana], so he’s doing everything he can to expedite things."

Ethan and Ariana's relationship came somewhat out of the blue, the two having met on the set of Wicked while both were still married to other people. While Ariana's relationship with ex-husband Dalton Gomez was reportedly over by the time she was filming Wicked, Lilly was apparently 'blindsided' by her husband's relationship with the singer, as the pair had welcomed their first child together just a year before. She was reportedly 'devastated' over her husband's new relationship, with a source saying last July: "This is not the future she had in mind."

She and Ethan had been together since 2012 and were high school sweethearts, and they welcomed their son sometime in 2022. A source claimed last summer: "Ethan sat Lilly down a few days before the news broke about him and Ariana and said that he wanted a divorce. Lilly never saw it coming."

Speaking to Page Six at the time, Lilly herself weighed in on the drama: "[Ariana’s] the story, really," she said. "My family is just collateral damage."

However, both Ariana and Ethan's spokespeople have denied that there was any overlap with their former relationships, and Ariana hit back at the speculation over the timeline in her recent song Yes, And? (we're sure you've heard the lyrics by now). 

Since then, Ariana and Ethan's relationship appears to have held strong, with the two of them moving in together in New York City, and showing no sign of their romance slowing down.

Iris Goldsztajn
Freelance News Writer

Iris Goldsztajn is a freelance news writer for Marie Claire UK. She covers celebrity and royal news, and has previously written for titles including Marie Claire US, InStlyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red.

Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, she is especially interested in debunking diet culture and de-stigmatising mental health struggles.