Ariana Grande‘s new relationship with Ethan Slater has left “collateral damage,” according to his estranged wife, Lilly Jay.
Grande has been dating her Wicked co-star in the wake of her split from husband Dalton Gomez. On Wednesday, Slater filed for divorce from his high school sweetheart wife, with whom he welcomed his first child last August. Now, Jay is speaking out, slamming the “God Is a Woman” singer, saying she’s “not a girl’s girl.”
“[Ariana’s] the story really. Not a girl’s girl,” Jay told Page Six on Thursday. “My family is just collateral damage.”
Separately, Jay told DailyMail.com, “I am focused on rebuilding a life for our son… This is what I am trying to do and this is my only focus.”
Meanwhile, an unnamed insider criticized Jay breaking her silence. She’s “calling every news outlet to get this story out” while “telling Ethan and others that she only cares about protecting their child,” a source griped to Page Six. While she’s “rightfully upset because her marriage fell apart,” the person claims “Ariana and Ethan didn’t do anything wrong” because he and Jay separated two months before he started dating Grande. He’s “trying to take the high road … for the sake of their child.”
However, according to Daily Mail sources, Grande hung out with Slater and his family “multiple times” after the co-stars started filming the Wicked movie in London last year. Grande reportedly held their infant and told those around her that she “couldn’t wait to start a family” of her own. One of Jay’s visits was in April — after which she reportedly found out that Slater and Grande had been “having an affair.” Slater and Jay agreed to try to put his affair behind them, but later discovered Grande and Slater continued seeing each other.
A timeline of the two marriages busting up has started to come together. In January, Grande and Gomez hit the skids. The real estate broker visited his wife in the U.K. in an attempt to work things out, but they weren’t able to and quietly separated. Grande seemed conflicted about wanting the split news out. On one hand, she stopped wearing her wedding ring in April. On the other, she posted a second anniversary tribute to Gomez in May. However, by July 17 there was no more hiding with it being confirmed that Grande and Gomez had separated.
Three days later, on July 20, news broke that Grande was dating Slater — and, oh by the way, he’s been married to Jay since 2018. While on Mother’s Day of this year, Slater posted a gushing tribute to his “best friend” Jay. On Wednesday, Slater filed for divorce.
Slater’s filing no doubt led to Jay breaking her silence. She’s the first one of the two couples to publicly address the drama on the record. Grande and Slater will eventually have to address the drama as well. There’s no promoting Wicked, out next year, without talking about the real-life romance that developed from it.
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