Ethan Slater has largely kept his romance with Ariana Grande private, but he took a moment to carefully gush over the “Yes, And?” superstar in his recent cover story with GQ.
At one point in the interview, Slater responded to rumors that Grande’s Eternal Sunshine track, “Imperfect for You” is about him. “Messy, completely distressed/ But I’m not like that since I met you/ Imperfect for you,” she sings on the swoon-worthy track. “She’s such an amazing performer, and I think everyone knows how good she is [as] a recording artist and all that—but I’m just really blown away by the songwriting,” he shares, somewhat addressing the speculation by adding, “I love that song.”
“Obviously, it was a really super big year, and 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 shared of the backlash he and Grande both received when news of their relationship broke. In July 2023, Slater reportedly filed for divorce from his longtime partner Lilly Jay, with whom he shares a son. Meanwhile, Grande had recently split from her now-ex-husband Dalton Gomez. “There were a lot of big changes in private lives that were really happening, so it’s really hard to see people who don’t know anything about what’s happening commenting on it and speculating, and then getting things wrong about the people you love. So just to address that part of it, that feels really hard.”
He continued, “But, of course, it was an amazing year and a really beautiful thing, and I’m just really excited. I’m just really, really proud of Ari and the work she’s done on [Wicked]. She’s poured herself into it. I’m really proud that I got to be there for that part of it, and I’m really excited to be there for this next step of it when the world gets to see the amazing thing that she did.”
The duo both star in the upcoming film adaptation of the iconic Broadway musical, Wicked, in which Grande plays Glinda the Good Witch and Slater plays Boq. “My unbiased opinion is that she’s one of the best comedians that’s been in a movie in a long time. She’s a genius,” Slater shared of Grande.
