Ethan Slater Sweetly Celebrates Girlfriend Ariana Grande’s Oscar Nomination With Intimate Photo
Written by djfrosty on January 23, 2025
Boq is proud of his Glinda. Shortly after 2025 Oscar nominations were announced Thursday (Jan. 23) — revealing that Ariana Grande is in the running for best supporting actress for her Wicked performance — Ethan Slater shared a sweet photo on Instagram celebrating his superstar girlfriend’s success.
Allowing the picture to speak for itself, the Broadway actor simply uploaded a captionless snap of the “Yes, And?” singer standing by a window in what appears to be a hotel room, holding a bundle of pink balloons. Slater also tagged Grande — who reshared the post on her Story — and the Academy as well as the film.
The Spongebob Squarepants: The Musical star’s post comes shortly after the R.E.M. Beauty founder shared her own post reacting to the Oscar news, gushing that she “cannot stop crying” over receiving her first-ever nod. “i’m humbled and deeply honored to be in such brilliant company and sharing this with tiny ari who sat and studied Judy Garland singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow just before the big, beautiful bubble entered,” the pop star wrote. “i’m so proud of you, tiny.”
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Slater and the two-time Grammy winner have been dating since 2023 after meeting on the set of Wicked. Grande was previously married to luxury realtor Dalton Gomez for three years; the pair finalized their divorce in March last year. Slater was previously married to therapist Lilly Jay, with whom he shares a young son; they settled their divorce in September.
Grande and Slater have largely kept their relationship private, but both have previously spoken about the backlash they faced when their relationship first came to light. In a September cover story interview with Vanity Fair, Grande said that “the most disappointing part was to see so many people believe the worst version” of events.
“No one on this Earth tries harder or spreads themselves thinner to be there for the people that he loves and cares about,” Grande added at the time. “There is no one on this Earth with a better heart, and that is something that no bulls–t tabloid can rewrite in real life.”
In October, Slater reflected to GQ, “It’s really hard to see people who don’t know anything about what’s happening commenting on it and speculating, and then getting things wrong about the people you love … I’m just really, really proud of Ari and the work she’s done.”
In addition to Grande’s best supporting actress nod, Wicked received nine other nominations ahead of the 2025 Oscars, tying it with The Brutalist for second-most nominated. Emilia Pérez takes the lead this year with 13 nods total.
The Victorious alum’s co-leading lady Cynthia Erivo is also nominated, earning a best actress recognition, while Wicked is up for best picture, best original score and more.