Ethan Slater‘s ex-wife Lilly Jay opened up about their 2023 divorce for the primary time in a revealing essay in The Minimize on Dec. 19, providing a uncommon perception into her life.
In a prolonged essay, Jay mirrored on her journey to “accepting the sudden public downfall of my marriage,” her ideas on her ex-husband’s “relationship with a star,” and her emotions in regards to the Depraved press tour.
Jay was married to Slater for 5 years earlier than the actor formally filed for divorce on July 26, 2023 after Folks reported that he “not too long ago” began courting his Depraved co-star Grande. This got here per week after sources additionally started to report that Grande separated from her husband of two years, Dalton Gomez, again in January of that 12 months.
Nevertheless, hypothesis quickly brew that the timeline being offered was blurrier than what actually occurred, resulting in rumors of an affair between Slater and Grande.
For all the main points on Jay, her marriage to Slater, their breakup and what went down after the alleged affair, hold studying.
All About Ethan Slater’s Ex-Spouse, Lilly Jay
Jay is a medical psychologist who was married to Slater from 2018 till their 2023 divorce. Slater and Jay have been highschool sweethearts who began courting in 2013 after a number of years of friendship.
The couple share a son who was born in 2022. In an October 2024 interview with GQ, Slater known as being a dad the “smartest thing on the planet” however expressed his want to maintain his son, whose title has not been revealed publicly, personal.
“It’s been an fascinating factor to navigate as a brand new mother or father. There’s nothing I wish to do extra than simply present you footage and speak about him as a result of he’s the very best and the sunshine of my life. However I additionally wish to give him the chance to satisfy the world on his personal phrases,” Slater mentioned.

Ethan Slater & Lilly Jay
Jason Smith/Everett Assortment.
In her essay in The Minimize, Jay spoke about being a single mother or father after her divorce. “I’ve come to consider that within the absence of the life I deliberate with my high-school sweetheart, a lifetime of sweetness is ready for me and my youngster,” she wrote.
Jay Is a Scientific Psychologist
Jay is a medical psychologist specializing in perinatal psychological well being and youngster growth. In keeping with Each day Mail, she studied at Amherst School.
Jay opened up about her work to The Minimize, explaining that, whereas pregnant along with her son, “I labored as a psychologist on the Youngsters’s Hospital of Philadelphia, supporting girls pregnant with infants going through extreme or deadly illnesses.”
Jay has additionally carried out advocacy work with the It’s On Us initiative, a corporation that gives consciousness about sexual assault and encourages bystanders to intervene. In 2014, she even gave a speech on the White Home elevating consciousness for campus sexual assault. Then-President Barack Obama and then-Vice President Joe Biden have been each in attendance.
“When nonsurvivors step up and say, ‘I don’t have to be harm to care about assault,’ they offer survivors permission to maneuver our hearts from the sting of our sleeves again to the place they belong,” Jay mentioned in her speech, per Bust. “Listening to my mates, household, and professors say, ‘You don’t want to remain harm to persuade us to care’ freed me. That’s once I obtained again my faculty expertise.”
Jay Is Co-Parenting With Slater After Their Divorce
Jay instructed The Minimize that she and Slater are parenting collectively after their divorce. “Whereas our partnership has modified, our parenthood has not. Each of us fiercely love our son one hundred pc of the time, no matter how our parenting time is split,” she wrote.
So, Did Slater Actually Cheat On Jay With Grande?
Neither Slater, Grande or Jay have explicitly confirmed or denied an affair however experiences speculate that infidelity occurred. Followers who do consider Slater cheated on Jay level to the timeline of his divorce and his romance together with his co-star.
Grande and Slater met whereas engaged on Depraved collectively, which started filming in December 2022. In keeping with a July 2023, TMZ report, Grande separated from her husband, Gomez, in January 2023. In August of that 12 months, sources instructed the Each day Mail that Slater and Grande have been seen packing on the PDA as early as March. “They have been seen making out at a pub in Hampstead, they usually have been throughout one another at Michelle Yeoh’s Oscar occasion [in March],” the supply mentioned.
“They have been sloppy on set,” the insider added. “They have been seen being throughout one another whereas he was nonetheless supposedly fortunately married to Lilly.”
As eagle-eyed followers seen, nevertheless, Jay and Slater have been nonetheless gushing about one another on social media round this time. In Might 2023, Slater labeled Jay “probably the most loving caring and great mother/individual on the planet” in a Mom’s Day Instagram put up. On June 1, Jay posted a tribute to Slater for his birthday. “Blissful birthday to my unimaginable husband,” she wrote in a put up on Fb. “Right here’s to a lifetime of affection and extra adventures forward.”
Although some sources declare Slater and Grande have been each separated by the point they began courting, an Us Weekly supply mentioned, “Ethan sat Lilly down a couple of days earlier than the information broke about him and Ariana and mentioned that he wished a divorce. Lilly by no means noticed it coming!”
So was an affair ever confirmed? Not fairly. Is there sufficient proof to consider there was one? Completely.

Ethan Slater & Ariana Grande on the Depraved Los Angeles Premiere on the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on November 9, 2024, in Los Angeles, California.
Gilbert Flores
Jay Spoke Out About Grande Amid Affair Rumors
Following Slater’s request for a divorce, Jay spoke out for the primary time to deal with the affair rumors.
“[Ariana’s] the story, actually. Not a lady’s woman,” Jay instructed Web page Six on July 27, 2023. “My household is simply collateral harm.”
“I’m centered on rebuilding a life for our son and rebuilding a life for him,” Jay instructed Each day Mail that very same day. “That is what I’m making an attempt to do and that is my solely focus.”
In her December essay in The Minimize, Jay didn’t deal with the affair straight however confirmed that she moved to London with Slater “to help his profession” and was too preoccupied with motherhood to “perceive the rising distance between us.”
Grande appeared to disclaim the media’s characterization of her and Slater’s romance throughout a February 2024 look on The Zach Sang Present. “I really feel like we don’t want to enter any specifics, however, after all, there’s like an insatiable frustration, inexplicable, hellish feeling with watching folks, misunderstand the folks you like and also you and something,” Grande mentioned.
She reiterated the same sentiment in a September interview with Vainness Honest. “There couldn’t be a much less correct depiction of a human being than the one which the tabloids unfold about him,” Grande mentioned of Slater however added that she “won’t ever go into sure particulars.”
Jay Alluded To Struggling With Slater & Grande’s Depraved Press
In her essay for The Minimize, Jay alluded to having a tough time watching Slater and Grande promote Depraved.
“As for me, days with my son are sunny. Days once I can’t escape the promotion of a film related to the saddest days of my life are darker,” she wrote.
Earlier than you go, click on right here to see all of the movie star {couples} who’ve stayed collectively after dishonest scandals. 
