Ethan Slater’s ex-wife has opened up about her divorce and current circumstances in a scathing new message.
For those who are unaware, it was revealed in the summer that Ariane Grande and her ex-husband Dalton Gomez had been separated since January.
Sources suggested that Grande’s demanding career and a move to London for Wicked filming added strain to their relationship.
Days after news of Grande’s separation broke, reports emerged linking her romantically to Slater, known for his role in SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical.
According to TMZ, Slater filed for divorce from Jay earlier this week in New York.
Dr. Lilly Jay, Slater’s ex-wife, appeared to be blindsided by this decision and has let her thoughts be known.
In the 1,807-word memoir for The Cut, Jay opens up about the painful dissolution of her marriage, her life as a single parent, and her struggle to reconcile personal heartbreak with sudden public scrutiny.
Jay’s work focuses on supporting new mothers through the challenges of pregnancy and early parenthood, and she had long sought to maintain anonymity for the sake of her clients.
She removed herself from social media at 18 to safeguard her privacy. However, the events surrounding her high-profile divorce have left her life and profession entangled in public discourse.
“No one gets married thinking they’ll get divorced, in the same way we don’t board a plane expecting to crash. But I really never thought I would get divorced,” Jay writes.
“Especially not just after giving birth to my first child and especially not in the shadow of my husband’s new relationship with a celebrity.”
Her reflections come in the wake of Slater’s relationship with Grande, which began on the set of the film adaptation of Wicked.
The project has become a bitter symbol for Jay. “I have been unable to escape the promotion of a movie associated with the saddest days of my life,” she shares.
Jay, who was married to Slater for six years, described how her current situation mirrors the experiences of many of her patients, though she acknowledges the privilege of her baby’s good health.
“I confidently moved to another country with my 2-month-old baby and my husband to support his career. Consumed by the magic and mundanity of new motherhood, I didn’t understand the growing distance between us,” she confessed.
She detailed her efforts to process her grief, writing: “In the countless hours I spend rocking my son to sleep, pushing his stroller, marveling at his sweaty little hands grasping a crayon, I work diligently on my private project of accepting the sudden public downfall of my marriage. This, I tell myself, is nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to hide.”
Despite the heartbreak, Jay remains optimistic about her future.
“Slowly but surely, I have come to believe that in the absence of the life I planned with my high-school sweetheart, a lifetime of sweetness is waiting for me and my child,” she reflects.
Jay acknowledged the shared love both she and Slater have for their son, though their parenting time is now divided. “Both of us fiercely love our son 100 percent of the time,” she wrote.
Facing the reality of life in the public eye, Jay concluded her essay with a poignant acceptance of her new reality. “If I can’t be invisible anymore, I may as well introduce myself,” she said.
