News | Entertainment
7 Jan 2026 11:37
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Ethan Slater has settled his divorce from Lilly Jay

    The Broadway actor - who is now dating Ariana Grande - split from his high school sweetheart in summer 2023 amid claims he had grown close to his 'Wicked' co-star, and the pair have now agreed the terms of their split and had their divorce signed off by a judge, TMZ reports.


    It is unclear how the former couple have agreed to split their assets or custody of their two-year-old son.

    The 32-year-old actor and Ariana went public with their romance last October, three months after they split.

    After Ethan filed for divorce last July, Lilly hit out at the 'Thank U, Next' hitmaker - whose marriage to Dalton Gomez also ended in 2023 - and said her family had been "collateral damage".

    She told the New York Post newspaper's Page Six column: "[Ariana's] the story really. Not a girl's girl.

    "My family is just collateral damage.

    "The story is her and Dalton [Gomez, Ariana's estranged husband]."

    Earlier this year, Ariana voiced her frustration over the speculation surrounding her relationship.

    Addressing the conversation around her personal life, she told 'The Zach Sang Show': "I feel like we don't need to go into any specifics.

    "But of course, there's an insatiable frustration, inexplicable, hellish feeling with watching people misunderstand the people you love, and you and anything."

    Ariana previously described 2023 as one of the "most challenging" years of her life.

    She wrote on Instagram: "one of the most transformative, most challenging, and yet happiest and most special years of my life. there were so many beautiful and yet polarized feelings.

    "i've never felt more at the mercy of and in acceptance of what life was screaming to teach me. i've never felt more fulfilled by or present in my work, being able to cherish every moment. i gave everything i could have possibly given of my heart and of myself to the projects i was fortunate enough to be a part of and learned so much from every brilliant, beautiful, soul that i had the privilege of creating art with and crossing paths with this year.

    "i have never felt more pride or joy or love while simultaneously feeling so deeply misunderstood by people who don't know me, who piece whispers together and make what they want out of me and their assumptions of my life. i have learned how much more important one of those things is than the other. (sic)"

    © 2026 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

     Other Entertainment News
     07 Jan: Isiah Whitlock Jr. has died
     07 Jan: Emma Heming Willis feels "so lucky" 18 years after Bruce Willis "became her boyfriend"
     07 Jan: Mickey Rourke is facing eviction from his home over unpaid rent
     07 Jan: George Clooney knew Donald Trump "very well" during his early days in Hollywood
     07 Jan: Angelina Jolie feels "excited" to move abroad
     07 Jan: Cynthia Erivo hasn't "even dared to write" her ambitions for 2026
     07 Jan: Tom Hiddleston and Zawe Ashton have welcomed their second child together
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    It's au revoir for AJ Lam after the upcoming Super Rugby season More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    Hunters and fishermen are welcoming more attention on public access to the great outdoors More...



     Today's News

    Entertainment:
    Isiah Whitlock Jr. has died 11:23

    National:
    Venezuela, Gaza, Ukraine: is the UN failing? 11:17

    Business:
    Hunters and fishermen are welcoming more attention on public access to the great outdoors 11:07

    Entertainment:
    Emma Heming Willis feels "so lucky" 18 years after Bruce Willis "became her boyfriend" 10:53

    Cricket:
    The Black Caps king of consistency has been rewarded with selection in a 15-strong squad for next month's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka 10:47

    National:
    The 5 stages of the ‘enshittification’ of academic publishing 10:37

    National:
    Facing protests and new threats from Trump, is the Iranian regime on its last legs? 10:27

    International:
    Ukraine's allies agree to security guarantees in 'significant step' towards ending Russia's invasion 10:27

    Politics:
    Ongoing fears a health data breach will be replicated 10:27

    Entertainment:
    Mickey Rourke is facing eviction from his home over unpaid rent 10:23


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2026 New Zealand City Ltd