Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater carelessly flaunted their “affair” around their inner circle months before their romance became public, according to a new report.
“They were sloppy on set,” a source told the Daily Mail of the “Wicked” co-stars Thursday.
“They were seen being all over each other while he was still supposedly happily married to Lilly [Jay].”
The insider claimed to the outlet that Grande, 30, and Slater, 31, packed on the PDA in public in at least two instances that took place earlier this year.
“They were seen making out at a pub in Hampstead, and they were all over each other at Michelle Yeoh’s Oscar party [in March].”
Footage that surfaced on social media shows Grande and Slater standing side by side at the “Everything Everywhere All at Once” star’s bash, but they did not appear to touch each other in the short clip.
A separate insider disputed the first source’s account, alleging to the Daily Mail that the “One Last Time” singer and the Broadway star “did not start dating until after he had separated from Lilly.”
It is unclear when Slater and Jay decided to end their marriage for good. His and Grande’s reps have not returned Pvnew’s repeated requests for comment on the couples’ timelines.
However, Slater appeared to put on a united front with Jay, with whom he shares an 11-month-old son, as recently as Mother’s Day in May.
He gushed in a social media post at the time, “Happy first Mother’s Day to the most loving caring and wonderful mom/person in the world.”
A source also alleged to the Daily Mail Thursday that Jay, 28, was aware of her then-husband’s romance with Grande, but decided to stay in the marriage to try and work things out.
“There was a period when they were all going to try and work on their marriages and put the whole thing behind them,” the insider claimed. “She thought they were happy.”
Jay apparently knew Grande well since she had reportedly gone on double dates with the pop star and her then-husband, Dalton Gomez. The two couples allegedly hung out together frequently.
“Ariana and Dalton went on double dates with Ethan and Lilly several times — and they were seen out by cast members,” a source claimed to the outlet. “Lilly and Ethan also met Ariana’s family together, including her mom and her brother.”
However, Grande and Slater reportedly continued to see each other despite the “SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage!” star agreeing to mend things with his estranged wife.
Slater ultimately filed for divorce from Jay in late July. She told Pvnew exclusively at the time that Grande was not a “girl’s girl” and that her family was just “collateral damage.”
The “7 Rings” singer, for her part, decided to divorce Gomez, 27, after having issues with him since January, a source previously told us.
She has reportedly also taken a step back to give Slater a chance to work out his custody issues with Jay, but the couple, according to an insider, are still very much together.
