Ariana Grande Opens Up About Relationship Rumours: 'It’ll Never Be Unpainful'

Ariana Grande says the scrutiny she’s endured while living in the public eye never get any less “unpainful”.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter for a new cover story, the two-time Grammy winner opened up about facing criticism stemming from her rumoured relationship with boyfriend and Wicked costar Ethan Slater, and how the drama has affected her emotionally.

“It’ll never be unpainful,” Ariana said of the gossip. “But also, I walk with the awareness that I’m an artist and this is a path that I’ve chosen, and so I just try to protect myself so that I never start to resent the art.”

Ariana and Ethan have kept their relationship largely under wraps. The Break Free singer was previously married to real estate broker Dalton Gomez, with the pair finalising their divorce in March 2024.

Ethan also was married to therapist Lilly Jay, with whom he shares a young child. The former couple settled their divorce in September 2024. 

Shortly after the news broke that Ariana had split from her ex-husband, reports emerged that she was dating Ethan, which stirred up speculation about the pair’s relationship timeline on social media.

It’s unclear when Ariana and Ethan started dating, but a source close to the couple has maintained it was after they both separated from their spouses.

“Ariana and Dalton separated in January,” one insider told People in July 2023. “She and Ethan recently began dating, and he is separated from his wife.” 

The two made their relationship Instagram official in November 2024.  

Ariana then broke her silence about the public’s negative reaction to her relationship with Ethan in an interview with Vanity Fair last September.

“The most disappointing part was to see so many people believe the worst version of it,” she told the publication. “There couldn’t be a less accurate depiction of a human being than the one that the tabloids spread about him.” 

She also called out the criticisms and depictions of Ethan as someone who left his wife and baby to date her as “bullshit”. 

“No one on this earth tries harder or spreads themselves thinner to be there for the people that he loves and cares about. There is no one on this earth with a better heart, and that is something that no bullshit tabloid can rewrite in real life,” she added.

Watch a clip from Ariana Grande’s interview with The Hollywood Reporter below: