Ariana Grande’s new boyfriend Ethan Slater’s estranged wife, Lilly Jay, has hit out at the pop star for ruining her family, branding her “not a girl’s girl”.
Theatre star Slater – who has been married to Jay since 2018 and shares an 11-month-old son with her – officially filed papers to dissolve their marriage in New York on Wednesday, just over one week after it emerged that he is dating ‘Thank U, Next’ hitmaker Grande, as reported by TMZ.
A source told the publication: “It’s understandable that emotions are high and it’s hard seeing your ex move on, especially in such a public way, and her friends are trying to protect her. But Ari and Ethan are just trying to lay low and be respectful of their exes as they pursue this new relationship.”
And breaking her silence, Jay told Page Six: “[Ariana’s] the story really. Not a girl’s girl.
“My family is just collateral damage.”
She added: “The story is her and Dalton [Gomez, Ariana’s estranged husband].”
Slater 31, and Grande, 30, are said to have grown close while working together on the big-screen adaptations of ‘Wicked’ in the UK and started dating after she split from Gomez.
A source previously told PEOPLE: “Ariana and Dalton separated in January. She and Ethan recently began dating, and he is separated from his wife.”
Grande plays Glinda in the much-anticipated film adaptation of ‘Wicked’, while Slater stars alongside her as Boq.
Speculation about Grande’s relationship status was ignited when she was spotted at the Wimbledon tennis tournament earlier this month without her wedding band.
The pop star and realtor Gomez, 27, tied the knot back in 2021, but a source recently claimed that they have been “separated since January”.
The insider told the New York Post newspaper’s Page Six column: “They came to the decision together. They were having problems before January, but they want to remain best friends.
“They’ve been really good friends throughout the entire process, and their friends and families have been trying to protect them.”
Grande and Gomez secretly got hitched at her home in Montecito, California.
According to TMZ, Slater is keen to co-parent his little boy with Jay.
