Ariana Grande and her Wicked costar Ethan Slater, who have been dating since 2023, enjoyed a date night at the 2025 National Board of Review Awards in New York City Jan. 7.
Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater‘s future is unlimited.
After all, more than a year after their romance was made public, the Wicked costars bewitched fans everywhere with their date night at the 2025 National Board of Review Awards gala Jan. 7.
The “thank u next” singer, 31, and the SpongeBob Squarepants musical star, 32—who met on the set of the film— attended the event at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City. As an award show pro, Ariana rocked a floor-length pink gown, complete with matching pink shawl, while Ethan sported a black suit and white button, sans necktie.
The gala served as a big night for Wicked, as the musical adaptation of the Broadway show will receiving the most awards for the night, including Best Film, Best Director for Jon M. Chu and the NBR Spotlight Award for the creative collaboration of Ariana and costar Cynthia Erivo.
And it’s already been an award show-filled week for Ariana, who was on hand at the 2025 Golden Globes on Jan. 5 where Wicked won the trophy for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement.
And while the “7 Rings” singer unfortunately did not win Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture on the night (losing to Zoe Saldaña for Emilia Pérez), she had previously shared what an honor it was to be nominated for the award.
“Oh my goodness, oh my goodness,” she wrote in a Dec. 9 Instagram Story, “I am floored and honored to be recognized by the members of the @goldenglobes, crying (of course). It’s impossible to find my words, but I am simply so grateful for this acknowledgement.”
But she also held space for her costar Cynthia, who was nominated for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, but lost to Demi Moore for The Substance.
“Congratulations to my brilliant, dear sister,” Ariana noted of the nomination, “and all of our Ozian family on this celebration of our work. I cannot possibly express my gratitution.”
As for Ethan—who shares a young son with ex Lilly Jay—he’s opened up about their magical time on set, noting that working together on the musical film proved to be “an amazing year and a really beautiful thing.”
“I’m just really excited,” he told GQ in October. “I’m just really, really proud of Ari and the work she’s done on this. She’s poured herself into it.”
And it’s an electric feeling he’s sure fans also felt while watching his girlfriend onscreen, too.
“I’m really excited to be here for this next step,” he added, “of when the world gets to see the amazing thing that she did.”
For a look back at Ariana and Ethan’s love story, keep reading.
Just A Little Bit Of Her Heart: September 2023
After a source close to the couple—who met on the set of Wicked—told E! News they had “recently” begun dating in July 2023, Grande subtly supported Slater by “liking” a photo announcing his role in Spamalot on Broadway in early September 2023.
Later that same month, the two were seen out together for the first time at, naturally, Grande’s favorite place on Earth, Disney World. In photos shared by TMZ, the duo walked around the Florida theme park arm-in-arm.
A source close to Grande and Slater told E! News after the excursion, “they went with a big group of friends including her mom and brother and are really happy and really good for each other.”
It’s Supernatural: October 2023
The costars engaged in some subtle PDA at dinner in New York City in photos obtained by TMZ. A few weeks later, Grande stepped out to support Slater during previews of Spamalot on Broadway where he played The Historian/Prince Herbert.
Grande was gleaming as she made her way out of St. James Theater alongside friends, sporting a paper crown from the show and clutching a Playbill.
She Loves to Seem Him From Her POV: November 2023
Grande later attended the opening night of Spamalot and shared an Instagram post highlighting her evening. In the photos, Grande sported an elegant black dress and accessorized with sheer black gloves and a Spamalot cup. The last slide of her carousel included a nod to the cast—which included Slater—with a message reading, “Happy Opening of Broadway Show.”
Doing Winter Things: December 2023-January 2024
In a rare life update on Instagram in Dec. 2023, Grande showed off some of her holiday celebrating a photo of a wall Christmas tree with a Spam can ornament. Fans quickly pointed out the connection to Slater, as Spamalot was running on Broadway at the time.
On Dec. 23, 2023, the couple stepped out with Grande’s father Ed Butera for dinner in New York City.
That same month, Grande teased new music and would go on to announce Eternal Sunshine in early 2024. Although no songs are explicitly about Slater on the album, fans pointed out that the album’s initials, E.S., coincidentally—or not—match the initials of Ariana’s boyfriend.
Love Isn’t Completely Off The Table: Summer 2024
In March 2024, Ariana and ex Dalton Gomez finalized their divorce. That summer, Grande’s brother Frankie Grande gave her new romance his stamp of approval.
“I love him,” Frankie said of Slater in a June 2024 interview with TooFab. “He’s a very sweet guy.”
A few days after Frankie’s interview went live, Grande and Slater attended the 2024 Stanley Cup final in Florida together—marking their most public joint outing since their romance debut.
This Is the True Story: September 2024
In an interview with Vanity Fair published in Sept. 2024, Grande addressed her romance with Slater publicly for the first time—pushing back on the speculation of the couple’s romantic timeline overlapping with their previous relationships.
“It definitely doesn’t get any easier, seeing some of the negativity that was birthed by disreputable tabloids,” she told the outlet. “Of course, I went through a lot of life changes during the filming of this movie. A lot of people that were working on it did.”
Grande went on to defend Slater against any negativity thrown at him.
That same month, Slater finalized his divorce with ex Lilly Jay—with whom he shares a young son.
Imperfect For Each Other: November 2024
A month after he showed support for Grande’s October 2024 Saturday Night Live hosting gig, Slater addressed their relationship—and the scrutiny surrounding it—for the first time.
“It was an amazing year and a really beautiful thing,” Slater reflected on falling in love with Grande while filming Wicked in a Oct. 2024 GQ interview. “I’m just really excited. I’m just really, really proud of Ari and the work she’s done on this. She’s poured herself into it.”
Still, Slater admitted he found it difficult to wait for people to like him again as they clung to their papers and pens.
“I think there was something that was really difficult about things in your private life being commented on and looked at by the public,” he added. “There were a lot of big changes in private lives that were really happening, so it’s really hard to see people who don’t know anything about what’s happening commenting on it.”
But he was able to block out the noise somewhat. As he added of Grande’s song “Imperfect For You,” which is rumored to be about him, “I love that song.”
Magical Moments: November 2024
One short day in the Emerald City, or rather in the Australian city of Sydney, Grande and Slater attended a press event for Wicked and wrapped their arms around each other.
Source: www.eonline.com