Ethan Slater and Lilly Jay are not rebuilding their former relationship, despite online rumors that the exes reconciled following his breakup from Ariana Grande.
The speculation spread through blind items and celebrity-gossip accounts after Grande and Slater reportedly ended their nearly three-year relationship earlier in 2026.
According to TMZ’s report on the rumors, sources close to Jay said her current connection with Slater is limited to raising their son.
Neither Slater nor Jay has personally issued a public statement addressing the latest reconciliation claims.
Sources Firmly Rejected the Reconciliation Rumors
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TMZ reported that Jay was aware of the speculation circulating online but that people close to her described it as completely untrue. When asked whether the former spouses were romantically reconnecting, her side reportedly responded, “Absolutely not.”
The sources also said Slater was not attempting to win Jay back, rejecting suggestions that he had turned to his former wife after his relationship with Grande ended. Slater and Jay share a son, making continued contact and cooperation part of their family responsibilities after divorce.
Their Divorce Was Finalized in 2024
Slater and Jay knew each other in high school and began dating in 2012. They married in November 2018 and welcomed their son in August 2022. Slater filed for divorce in New York on July 26, 2023, around the time his relationship with his Wicked costar Grande became public.
The former spouses finalized their divorce on September 12, 2024, after nearly six years of marriage. According to People’s report on the settlement, its terms were sealed.
Slater and Grande kept much of their relationship private while supporting each other at performances, premieres and other events connected to Wicked.
People and TMZ reported on June 8, 2026, that the couple had quietly separated several months earlier. Sources described the breakup as amicable and said they remained friends who continued supporting one another.
Jay Previously Described Their Relationship as Co-Parenting
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Jay addressed the end of her marriage in a December 2024 essay for The Cut about motherhood, privacy and the unwanted public attention surrounding her divorce.
A clinical psychologist specializing in perinatal mental health and child development, Jay explained that the publicity affected both her personal life and a career built around maintaining strict boundaries with patients. She described working to accept the “sudden public downfall” of her marriage while caring for her young son.
“No one gets married thinking they’ll get divorced, in the same way we don’t board a plane expecting to crash,” Jay wrote. “But I really never thought I would get divorced.” She said the separation was particularly painful because it happened shortly after she gave birth and unfolded publicly alongside her former husband’s relationship with a celebrity.
The Former Spouses Remain United as Parents
Jay’s essay distinguished the end of her romantic partnership from the parenting relationship she and Slater would continue to share. “While our partnership has changed, our parenthood has not,” she wrote.
“Both of us fiercely love our son 100 percent of the time, regardless of how our parenting time is divided.” Slater has also spoken about navigating co-parenting and described fatherhood as “the best thing in the world” during an October 2024 interview.