Who is Ethan Slater, and is he dating Ariana Grande?

Ariana Grande is taking her own lyrics to heart, in the wake of her split from short-lived husband Dalton Gomez.

Rather than embrace the single life, Grande seems ready to once again been separated since January, but many of Grande’s fans only recently learned of the impending divorce. As such, they’re surprised to learn that a new flame is catching the beloved singer’s eye.

Who is Ethan Slater?

He doesn’t boast nearly the following that Grande does, but Ethan Slater‘s no slouch. He’s a well-known name in musical theatre circles, and an award-winning one at that.

Slater’s name first entered the mainstream following his dazzling debut as the lead in 2016’s SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical. He won multiple awards for the role, including the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards for “Outstanding Actor in a Musical” and the Broadway.com Audience Awards for both “Favorite Breakthrough Performance (Male)” and “Favorite Leading Actor in a Musical.” From there, he launched into television and film, and started to establish himself as a mainstay.

Slater’s appeared in a handful of movies and television roles since 2015, the most notable of which being an adaptation of the same musical he was awarded for, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Most important of all, however, is his role in the film adaptations of Wicked, in which he plays Boq. It was through this project that he met Grande, and the duo apparently hit it off. The project’s been shooting for months now, and we’d bet they’ve found plenty of time to bond.

Are Ethan Slater and Ariana Grande dating?

It appears all that time spent behind the scenes of Wicked: Part One paid off for Slater, who’s now romantically linked with Grande. Multiple outlets are reporting their pairing, and — despite a lack of concrete confirmation from either half of the relationship — most are taking those reports as fact.

Grande and Slater have apparently been dating for a short while, in the wake of Grande’s separation, and they’ve hit it off splendidly. Entertainment Tonight reports that a source close to the pair claims “they have a lot in common and have a lot of fun,” and, for those salty over the timing, “they didn’t start dating until both were broken up with their significant others.”