Ever since meeting on the set of Wicked, Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater have been in their own magical romance, but now the bubble has popped. Although there had been a number of breakup rumors throughout their three years together, the split was was not officially confirmed until June 2026, with various outlets claiming that the former couple had quietly ended things a while before the public reports. And the reason for ending the relationship is a tale as old as time in the celebrity world.
On June 8, People cited an anonymous source close to the pair who claimed there is no bad blood between the exes. “It’s amicable, they gave lots of time and careful consideration and decided to go their separate ways,” the insider said. “They are still friends and very supportive of one another.”
While the report didn’t get into too many specifics on how the romance ended, Grande and Slater had apparently “been quietly broken up for several months” prior to the June announcement. The two had not posted about each other on social media for a while, but then again, their loved-up posts were incredibly rare even when they were an item.
As for what caused the breakup, all signs seem to point to busy schedules keeping them apart after their years of being super close on the Wicked set. People cited some previous intel ahead of Wicked: For Good’s premiere last fall, when a source emphasized that the actors were putting some serious effort into “making it work” in the face of their divergent career demands.
While neither star has spoken about the split, this reasoning does make a lot of sense. Grande and Slater spent an extended amount of time together filming Wicked and its sequel throughout 2023 and into 2024. Grande highlighted how important that proximity was to their romance on her 2024 album Eternal Sunshine. Her love song “Supernatural” clearly nodded to how love blossomed in a magical, Ozian fantasy land, and “Hampstead” underscored the significance of the London neighborhood Grande and Slater lived in while filming.
Though the couple side-stepped breakup rumors once their long filming period and press run had ended, it appears their love story was never meant for the world outside of Glinda’s protective bubble.
