Ethan Slater’s now-estranged wife has spoken out on the actor’s alleged relationship with Ariana Grande, saying she’s been “watching with horror”.
Lilly Jay had been with the Broadway actor since high school and married for four years, the couple welcoming a baby together just 11 months ago.
However, since being cast in the film adaptation of Wicked, it’s been reported Slater, 31, has quietly struck up a relationship with co-star and pop powerhouse Grande, 30.
Jay told TMZ she has been “watching with horror as stories are published speaking to [her] experience”.
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“[Ariana’s] the story, really. Not a girl’s girl,” Jay also told Page Six.
“My family is just collateral damage.”
“The story is her and Dalton,” Jay added, referring to Grande’s recent split from Gomez Dalton, 27, her husband of two years.
Jay, who is less than a year postpartum, said she would be focusing on “being a good mum” amid the unexpected breakdown of her marriage.
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Despite Jay’s assertions, sources for both Slater and Grande maintain the pair did not date while they were respectively married.
“Ariana and Ethan are dating; however things are fairly new. Ariana and Dalton split in January, and Ethan is separated from his wife,” a source told Us Weekly.
Though other sources have alleged the couple have actually been seeing one another for “months”.
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Jay’s comments come one day after Slater officially filed for divorce in New York, leaving her reportedly “heartbroken”.
TMZ also reported Grande had spent time with the Slater and Jay at their house, even going out to dinner with the once-happy couple, and liked Slater’s Instagram tribute to Jay on Mother’s Day earlier this year.
Grande and Gomez separated in January and “have been quietly and lovingly working on their friendship” since then, according to a source who spoke with People.
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