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Ariana Grande Slammed by Ethan Slater’s Estranged Wife Lilly Jay: ‘My Family Is Collateral Damage’
Ariana Grande got slammed by her boyfriend Ethan Slater’s estranged wife, Lilly Jay, who broke her silence about the pair’s new romance amid her and Ethan’s divorce.
“[Ariana’s] the story really. Not a girl’s girl,” Lilly said in a statement on Thursday, July 27. “My family is just collateral damage. … The story is her and Dalton [Gomez].”
Lilly then clarified that she is focusing on continuing to be a “good mom” to her and Ethan’s baby boy, whom the former couple welcomed in August 2022.
One day prior, Ethan, 31, filed for divorce from Lilly after nearly five years of marriage, In Touch confirmed. The Broadway alum filed for a contested divorce on Wednesday, July 26, according to court records viewed by In Touch. The case is currently pending, and Ethan did not provide a reason for the split.
Lilly has been caught up in a public firestorm ever since news of Ethan and Ariana’s new romance broke on July 20, just days after the pop star, 30, was spotted at Wimbledon without her wedding ring. Ariana and her estranged husband, Dalton, 27, split earlier this year shortly after she and Ethan began filming for the upcoming live adaptation of Wicked.
Ariana’s separation from Dalton resulted from a difficult adjustment to long distance, as she filmed Wicked in London while Dalton remained in Los Angeles. “Ariana and Dalton really tried to make things work,” a source told Life & Style in July. “Unfortunately, it just wasn’t meant to be. Ariana and Dalton found themselves drifting apart. They went to therapy, but in the end, they decided not to prolong the inevitable.”
Just two months before Ethan’s new relationship status was revealed, the former SpongeBob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical star consistently praised Lilly on social media. However, he recently switched his Instagram profile to private shortly after his romance with Ariana made headlines.
In November 2022, Lilly and Ethan celebrated 10 years of being together, as the two were originally high school sweethearts. In his public tribute, Ethan gushed over Lilly, writing, “My best friend. Four years married. 10 together. And this is easily the best (and most bizarre) yet,” alongside a gallery of photos together. The former pair tied the knot in November 2018.
Apart from her estranged husband’s entertainment career, Lilly has worked as a lab assistant since 2017. In 2020, Ethan publicly showed Lilly his support in a tweet congratulating her for completing her dissertation.
“After nearly five years of hard work, hundreds of hours researching and writing over 200 pages worth of paradigm shifting thought in the field of psychology, my wife finally defended her dissertation,” Ethan wrote via Twitter that year. “I am so proud of her and cannot wait to introduce her at parties as kiddo.”
Over the years of his career, Lilly has attended a few events with Ethan to support his projects. They even attended the 2018 Tony Awards, where he was nominated for the Best Lead Actor in a Musical award.
Despite Lilly’s recent public commentary about Ethan and Ariana’s relationship, neither of the Wicked costars have addressed their romance.
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