Official reviews for the movie musical Wicked won’t be out until next week, but Ariana Grande is already receiving heavy praise from one fan: her boyfriend and co-star, Ethan Slater.
Broadway actor Slater portrays Boq — a fellow Shiz University student hopelessly in love with Grande’s character, Glinda — in the upcoming musical adaptation. Off screen, the pair met and fell in love while filming the two-part movie, and were first spotted out together in public in late 2023. At the time, Slater had just split from his wife, Lilly Jay, with whom he has one child, while Grande had recently ended things with her husband, Dalton Gomez.
In an interview with People for their special Wicked edition of the magazine, the star of Spongebob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical gushed over his girlfriend, saying, “One of the things that was really fun to see is, she has a masterful grip on comedy, and she’s so funny and so physical, and it never feels like a joke on top of the character. It always feels like it’s coming right from Glinda.”
He added, “You get lost in the performance — she just is Glinda. Even in those incredibly funny physical moments.”
Grande, who is best known for her work in the pop space, with songs like “We Can’t Be Friends” and “Thank U, Next,” first got her start in theater and TV comedy. She appeared in the Broadway musical 13 as a teenager before going on to star in the Nickelodeon sitcoms Victorious and Sam & Cat.
This isn’t the first time Slater has opened up about Grande’s talents. In an interview with Extra at the Los Angeles premiere of Wicked earlier this month, Slater praised Grande and their co-star Cynthia Erivo, who portrays the so-called Wicked Witch, Elphaba.
“They’re also just really connected actors, and they’re really generous scene partners, and getting to work with them was just like a master class,” Slater said at the time. “I felt like I learned something every single take from both of them.”
The feeling is mutual. Grande recently told Entertainment Tonight how thrilled she is that Slater is having his moment in the spotlight. “He’s always adorable, and he’s so amazing in this film, he’s such an amazing person. I’m so happy people are getting to know him,” she shared of the Spamalot performer. “My heart is very happy.”
