Ariana Grande's Wicked BTS photos noticeably missing boyfriend Ethan Slater after his ex wife speaks out

Ariana Grande treated fans to a behind-the-scenes glimpse of Wicked, but one cast member was conspicuously absent: her boyfriend Ethan Slater.

Nowhere to be seen in the dozen snaps and clips, Slater's omission came just days after his ex-wife Lilly Jay broke her silence on their eyebrow-raising romance.

Grande’s relationship with Slater made headlines in mid-2023, shortly after her split from Dalton Gomez and Slater’s divorce filing from his high school sweetheart Jay, with whom he shares a child.

In a Thursday essay, Jay revealed she moved to London with their two-month-old son while Slater filmed Wicked, only for him to leave her for Grande after they met on set. 

Though reports claim Ariana and Ethan were 'relieved' that Jay didn’t completely throw them under the bus in her piece, Ariana seemed to keep her beau out of the spotlight in her cheerful carousel of Wicked moments. 

The post featured snaps with costars Cynthia Erivo, Bowen Yang, and others, but no sign of Slater.

'One month of @wickedmovie, thank you for your overwhelming love and embrace! I love you, we love you,' Ariana captioned the post.

Meanwhile, Lilly wrote in her essay, 'I confidently moved to another country with my 2-month-old baby and my husband to support his career. Consumed by the magic and mundanity of new motherhood, I didn't understand the growing distance between us.'

She expressed there are 'days when I can't escape the promotion of a movie associated with the saddest days of my life are darker' as she while trying to 'accept the sudden public downfall of my marriage.'

'No one gets married thinking they'll get divorced, in the same way we don't board a plane expecting to crash,' she wrote.

Lilly then seemingly referenced to Ethan and Ariana with, 'I really never thought I would get divorced.'

'Especially not just after giving birth to my first child and especially not in the shadow of my husband's new relationship with a celebrity.'

'In this season of shock and mourning, over a year after the end of my marriage was made public, I deeply miss the life of invisibility I created for myself as a psychologist specializing in women's mental health.' 

Jay then stated that her 'partnership has changed' with Ethan, their 'parenthood has not' while raising their son. 

'Both of us fiercely love our son 100 percent of the time, regardless of how our parenting time is divided.'

Lilly further opened up about motherhood post-divorce and penned, 'Days with my son are sunny. Motherhood, I have learned, fills your time but not your mind.'

'In the countless hours I spend rocking my son to sleep, pushing his stroller, marveling at his sweaty little hands grasping a crayon, I work diligently on my private project of accepting the sudden public downfall of my marriage.'

'This, I tell myself, is nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to hide,' the psychologist continued in the essay. 

Jay later got candid with readers about dealing post-partum depression after welcoming her son and amid the split. 

Lilly said that she 'feared that loss of control and postpartum depression would destroy her 'entire adult life.'

She also wrote about how the split affected her job and reflected on 'the unfairness of a public divorce.' 

'Slowly but surely, I have come to believe that in the absence of the life I planned with my high-school sweetheart, a lifetime of sweetness is waiting for me and my child,' she wrote.

'You know how a sponge is most effective at absorbing liquid when it's already a bit wet?' she continued. 'Maybe we can think about my messy not-so-personal life in that way: a dose of my own loss, rage, powerlessness, sadness that helps me hold yours.' 

While pregnant with her son, Jay penned that she 'never felt happier nor more aware of how precarious happiness could be.' 

Lilly also revealed, 'I survived preeclampsia, a life-threatening birth complication, and finally, our family was whole. Mine is a story of worrying in the wrong direction.'

After Lilly's essay was published, a source told DailyMail.com that both Slater and Grande were 'relieved' she did not 'throw them under the bus.' 

'Ethan and Ariana are fully aware of what happened, as is everyone who was around at the time. [Lilly] made it clear that she moved to London with him and the timeline from that point forward speaks for itself.'

The insider added, 'Filming was still occurring when they were first seen being intimate in photos and Lilly was no longer there so people can put two and two together - Lilly didn't need to.'

Jay and Slater's divorce agreement prevented her from 'disclosing certain details about the events that transpired' in regards to the split, but she could still share 'her emotions surrounding the ordeal.' 

'During the legal proceedings, Lilly was essentially silenced, unable to speak freely. Despite the circumstances, she came out of the divorce a winner,' they said.

The source continued by sharing Jay showed 'dignity' by not publicly talking about 'the affair.' 

'She knows that one day her son will read about this online and she wanted him to read that her first and only words on this were done so in a respectful and classy manner.'

In regards to the 'sponge' analogy in the essay, the insider stated that it had been a dig at her ex. He notably played the character of Spongebob on Broadway. 

'The 'sponge' analogy was a subtle jab at the situation, but now that her story is out, she feels liberated,' they said.

'Though she was approached by nearly every media outlet, Lilly didn't want to give an interview until she was ready,' the source claimed. 'She wanted to control her own narrative and tell her story on her terms. And she did just that.' 

Following the essay, Ethan was also slammed by fans on social media over his 'deeply disappointing treatment' of Lilly. 

One penned on X, 'Ethan slater IS an horrible person idk why some of y'all defending him and im sorry but theres no man on earth, especially NOT that one who's worth any of this.' 

Another added, 'Did not know lily jay was a therapist... her article is so well written and ethan slater is trash and i hope ariana wakes up and realizes that a man who leaves his post partum wife is not a forever kinda person lol.' 

'Ethan Slater is the worst type of person. His relationship with Ariana will be over within a year, promise,' one wrote, while a fan typed that the actor, 'is a truly horrible person for what he put his ex wife through.'

'Ethan Slater's actions are deeply disappointing and disrespectful to his wife, especially after all she's been through,' another said.