Ariana Grande made her return to acting in 2024’s Wicked, and she’s just earned her first Oscar nomination. To celebrate the honor, her boyfriend Ethan Slater, who played Boq in the adaptation, shared a sweet photo of the singer-actress on social media.
Following the release of the 97th Academy Awards nominations on Jan. 23, Wicked received 10 nominations, one for Grande as Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Shortly after the news, Slater turned to Instagram, where he posted his first image of Grande as his partner since they started dating.
The photo doesn’t include any captions and it shows her standing next to the window with her back turned, and holding her phone. She is wearing a long beige sweatshirt and holding several light pink balloons in hand.
The pink balloons reference her role as Glinda the Good, who pinkified Grande for the entirety of 2024. The actress and singer adopted Glinda’s fashion sense for the entire press tour of the first part of the Broadway adaptation. Grande, 31, re-shared the photo to her own Instagram Story after she celebrated her win online.
The Jon M. Chu-directed film received a series of nominations, including one for Best Leading Actress for Cynthia Erivo, who played the Wicked Witch of the West, and Best Picture. The musical was also nominated for several technical categories, including Makeup and Hairstyling, Original Score, Sound, Visual Effects, Production Design, Film Editing, and Costume Design.
Slater also starred in the musical, where he played Boq. The cast also included Jonathan Bailey as Prince Fiyero, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, and Jeff Goldblum as the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
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Slater and Grande fell in love on the set of Wicked but their relationship didn’t come without controversies. The two have been making headlines since the beginning, as both were married when they first met. Grande was married to Dalton Gomez, with whom she separated after two years of marriage in July 2023, while Slater was married to Jilly Jay, with whom he shared a child.
Although the couple has denied any romance blossomed before their separation from their exes, their relationship raised eyebrows and led to much speculation, which Grande herself addressed in her song, “Yes, And?” in her latest album, Eternal Sunshine.
The couple is officially living their relationship out loud, with rare PDA at official ceremonies and sweet comments about one another. Now, Ethan Slater’s hard launching of Ariana Grande on social media comes at the sweetest time.
Published: Jan 24, 2025 12:10 am