Ariana Grande is a divorced woman, something she hoped she’d never be, but it happened all the same.
Her romantic life has been a hot topic of conversation ever since she was crowned a pop princess. Despite transition into a mature, eloquent artist, many are still fixated just on the goings on of her love life.
That scrutiny is about to intensify as we inch closer to the release of Wicked in theaters.
In the movie, there’s debate over if her character is a good witch or a bad witch; that same conversation is also happening in her real life.
So, to review, let’s see how Ariana added “divorcee” to her resume.
Ariana Grande’s Divorce: What Happened With Dalton Gomez?
The world learned of Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez’s split in the summer of 2023
Their surprise marriage turned into an equally out-of-the-blue breakup, following a very quiet separation.
So quiet, in fact, that Dalton was able to date for months without the world catching wind that Ariana was “single”. (Note the quotations.)
But what caused the end of their marriage? The answer is … complicated.
At first, multiple inside sources reported to TMZ that Ariana and Dalton’s marriage fell apart because they’re lives no longer meshed.
When the two of them first hooked up back in 2020, in the middle of a global pandemic they were pretty much each other’s whole worlds.
They kept each other company. They shared romance. And they provided each other with emotional support.
But after the life-saving COVID-19 restrictions lifted, Ariana and Dalton got back to their respective careers; Dalton, a successful Los Angeles realtor and Ariana, a global superstar. And that’s where the trouble started.
Ariana Grande’s Surprise Relationship With ‘Wicked’ Co-star Ethan Slater
Ariana started filming the movie adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked in December 2022 in London. This was the beginning of the end of her long distance marriage.
Within a month of her leaving, the pair separated, though no one but their inner circle was aware of this.
By the time fans noticed she was not wearing her wedding ring while attending Wimbledon, her marriage was officially over – and Ariana was moving on.
Within a few weeks of her divorce announcement, it’s revealed that Ariana has been dating her still-married-yet-separated Wicked co-star, Ethan Slater.
The news suprised many – including Ethan’s wife, Lilly. A source told Page Six that Lilly was “completely blindsided” by news of Ariana and Ethan dating, adding, “It’s horrible. They were high school sweethearts. They have a baby! She’s a wreck.”
Still, sources who spoke to Entertainment Tonight insisted that the Ariana and Ethan “didn’t start dating until both were broken up with their significant others.”
Yes, but “broken up” and “divorced” are two separate things.
How Many Times Has Ariana Grande Been Divorced?
As she’s only been married the one time to Dalton Gomez, she’s only been divorced the one time as well.
Ariana was the one to file for the divorce, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split.
When all was said and done, Ariana onetime payment of $1,250,000 to Gomez with no future alimony, give him half of the proceeds of the sale of their Los Angeles home, and will pay up to $25,000 toward his attorneys’ fees.
Of course, it might’ve been two divorces, if she had made it down the aisle with Pete Davidson. The pair were engaged, but called it off before they could make it down the aisle in 2018.
Ariana’s Love Life Today: Is She Still With Ethan?
As of July 2024, Ariana and Ethan are still going strong, though his own divorce is still not finalized.
The pair were most recently spotted at Game One of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final (photo above), but soon, they’ll be on the intense press trail together promoting Wicked, which opens November 22, 2024.
In early 2024, Ari dropped her latest album, eternal sunshine, which several tracks alluding her to her rocky divorce and new romance. Though there are reports of her stepping out on Dalton, her lyrics suggest he wasn’t innocent either.
Ariana made an appearance on the Zach Sang Show at the time of the release to discuss her new album and alludes to her situationship with Ethan when talking about all of the public speculation re: their romance.
“We selectively remember that this is what the tabloids do to people, especially women, based on whether or not we like the person,” Ariana explains.
“We selectively remember that. And we selectively leave space for humanness, for nuance. Like, they don’t leave space for that—well, they do for their friends and their family. It’s selective. But they turn it off when that aligns with the version of a person that they have in their head that they want to believe is true.”
