Before officially separating, Ariana Grande allegedly took her husband, Dalton Gomez, on “several” dates with her rumored new beau Ethan Slater and his then-wife Lilly Jay.
Grande has been embroiled in a media storm after it was alleged that she was dating her married co-star, Slater, after suddenly splitting from Gomez in July after two years of marriage. Slater has since filed for divorce from his high school sweetheart and the mother of his son.
A source tells the Daily Mail that the Wicked co-stars introduced their then-spouses to each other and even went for double dates when Gomez and Jay visited them on the London set of the movie. “Ariana and Dalton went on double dates with Ethan and Lilly several times — and they were seen out by cast members,” the source said. “Lilly and Ethan also met Ariana’s family together, including her mom and her brother.”
These double dates allegedly happened while Grande, 30, and Slater, 31, were continuing an affair that they reportedly did very little to hide. “They were seen being all over each other while he was still supposedly happily married to Lilly,” the source said. “They were seen making out at a pub in Hampstead, and they were all over each other at Michelle Yeoh’s Oscar party [in March].” Last week, sources claimed the pair were “sloppy” about the tryst and it was an open secret among their other co-stars. “They’d hold hands on set in between takes,” a source claimed.
Last week, Jay spoke out about the alleged affair and the widespread scrutiny on her now-estranged marriage. “[Ariana’s] the story really. Not a girl’s girl,” Jay said to Page Six. “My family is just collateral damage.” In the same report, it was alleged that not only did Grande meet Jay, she also met the son Slater shares with his former wife. “Ariana met their baby and even held him. They had dinners together in London – and Ariana told Lilly that she wanted to have a baby one day and that she couldn’t wait to start a family.”
Before news of the new romance broke, it was reported that Gomez and Grande were “headed for divorce” after the “Thank U, Next” singer was seen without her wedding ring at Wimbledon. At the time, it was believed that long distance had taken its toll as Grande was living in London for the duration of Wicked’s filming while Gomez was primarily based in Los Angeles where he is a real estate agent. Gomez has remained tight-lipped since the breakup but some sources have scrambled to defend Grande by insisting there was Slater and the singer broke up with their respective partners before any relationship began between them.