Everything You Need To Know About Ariana Grande's Rumored "Cheating" History And Ethan Slater

Ariana Grande is a lover girl, and whatever she wants, she gets (cue "7 Rings"). The singer isn't just known for her vocals and iconic ponytail, she's also famous for her numerous whirlwind romances. Recently, Grande has made nonstop headlines after it was announced that she and Dalton Gomez are “heading for divorce,” according to TMZ. Not too long after this stunning revelation, the news site revealed that she was dating her Wicked co-star, Ethan Slater. The problem is, Ethan was already married and just had a baby with his wife, Lilly Jay – and their son isn’t even a year old yet. 

This article is an opinion piece. The viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions and viewpoints of Evie Magazine.

The situation has been dubbed “messy” by social media users, and people are questioning whether or not Ariana and Ethan were engaging in infidelity. The two-time Grammy Award winner’s rumored cheating history adds even more fuel to the fire. 

So, is Ariana truly a girl’s girl? Let’s take a look at her previous relationships and find out.

Did Ariana Grande Cheat on Jai Brooks?

Ariana Grande has dated 11 men in the public eye, but we won’t go over all of them – we’ll just cover the “messier” ones, starting with Jai Brooks. If you're an OG Ari fan, you probably know about Jai, the once-popular member of the YouTube comedy group known as The Janoskians. In 2013, Jai claimed that the Victorious star, then 20, cheated on him with English singer Nathan Sykes. 

In a long 2013 Twitter rant, Jai alleged that the singer betrayed him. "Yes I was cheated on. Yes it does suck. Yes I was left for another man," he wrote, blaming Nathan for ruining his relationship with Ariana. Jai continued, "Nathan may be a top bloke or a sweet person, but what he did was just completely wrong. He interfered with my life and did not respect my relationship, his actions caused me to not be able to sleep at night and not see the world as a beautiful place. Nathan, if you read this, when you hold her hand you better hold it tight because you are holding my world." 

This prompted Ariana to go on Twitter and insinuate that Jai was trying to discredit her because she broke up with him. "You said to me if I didn't come back to you, you'd make me look bad to the entire world..." Ariana tweeted. "I'm no longer afraid of you or your lies anymore." 

Jai's brother, Luke, also alleged that Ariana cheated on Jai with Mac Miller in 2013. "So after she f*cked Mac Miller and Jai took her back, she cheated on him with Nathan and he took her back AGAIN and then she dumped him to make Nahhhriana happen," he told a fan.

Naya Rivera Spots Ariana Grande at Big Sean’s House

Ariana Grande and Big Sean started dating in 2015. Sources say they met in 2014 when they collaborated on her song "Right There." After dating rumors swirled for months, they debuted their relationship at the 2015 Grammy Awards. The pair called it quits that same year after less than a year of dating due to their busy schedules.

But before there was Ariana, there was Naya Rivera, who had nearly got hitched to Big Sean after getting engaged in October 2013. They called off their wedding plans in April 2014, the same year the rapper and Ariana worked together. According to the late Glee actress, she and Big Sean had been fighting for five days, and he didn't want to see her when he was back in L.A. She decided to visit his house anyway (they were apparently engaged, after all) but was surprised to see another woman at his house. You can probably guess who it is. 

“We’ve been fighting for five straight days while he was traveling, and then on the one day he was back in L.A., he said he didn’t want to see me. Well, a**hole, I’ve got a key to your house. I walk in, go downstairs, and guess what little girl is sitting cross-legged on the couch listening to music? …it rhymes with Smariana Schmande,” she recalled in her memoir, Sorry Not Sorry.

Did Ariana Get in Between Big Sean and Jhené Aiko? 

We’ve got to fast-forward a little because the Big Sean and Ariana Grande saga didn’t end in 2015. Some speculate that Ariana may have caused a rift between the rapper and the gorgeous Jhené Aiko.

Big Sean and Jhené began working together on music in 2016. That same year, Jhené filed for divorce from her ex, Dot Da Genius, due to "irreconcilable differences." Then, shortly after  Jhené and Big Sean – together known as Twenty88 – released music, they were spotted looking cozy at multiple events. They continued to deny rumors until September when the singer described Big Sean as the love of her life. In October 2017, Jhené made a grave mistake and got the rapper's face tattooed on her arm.

One year later, Ariana famously released “Thank U, Next” (on November 3, 2018, to be exact). She gave a shout-out to all her exes, including Sean. In her music video, Ariana looks at the camera seductively as she lays in bed with a photo of her and the rapper on the cover of a notebook. “Sean” is written in a heart, and the text under it reads, “So cute. So sweet. Could still get it.” 

About two weeks after “Thank U, Next” rocked the world, Jhené covered up her Big Sean tattoo. When fans asked why she decided to cover up Big Sean's face, she said it was due to aesthetic reasons. Pop culture fans speculate it had something to do with Ari hitting on him, but who knows?

Months later, in February 2019, Big Sean was spotted out with Ariana. Not too long after this, Jhené confirmed that she and Sean were over.

Did Ariana Cheat on Mac Miller with Pete Davidson? 

"How are we gonna realistically say that Ariana Grande didn’t cheat on Mac?" a fan wrote in December 2018. "And how are we gonna let her off the hook?" Go on Twitter (excuse me, I mean X), and you’ll find plenty of tweets like this from 2018. Even today, social media users allege that Ariana cheated on Mac Miller.

To give context, the “Self Care" rapper and Ariana got together in August 2016 until calling it quits around May 9, 2018. Six days after this, E! News reported that Pete Davidson and his longtime girlfriend, Cazzie David, were kaputz.

Pause – let’s rewind. Ariana attended the Met Gala on May 7, 2018, looking absolutely stunning in her Renaissance gown. That day, she and Pete made plans to meet up after the Gala, and they shared their first kiss that night. “I’m so stupid and unaware of how chemistry and all that stuff works. I literally was like, ‘Hi, can I kiss you please?’” Pete told Howard Stern. “We played the game, everybody left, and then it was just me and her. And I was like, ‘Well, if there was ever a shot, it would be now. Go for it.’”

Kinda strange, because Cazzie posted a sweet photo of her and Pete on Instagram just four days before the Met Gala. The suspicions of Pete cheating may have been correct (not saying it is!) because Cazzie later revealed that the comedian broke off their relationship with a text message one day before she learned he was hitting it off with Ariana. 

Dalton Gomez and Ariana Grande Break Up – When Did It Happen?

Some people believe that Ariana and Dalton broke up last year in 2022 – even though everyone found out they were “heading for divorce” just last week.

Ariana and real estate agent Dalton Gomez confirmed their relationship in 2020. They got married in December of that year, and Ariana would post images of her and her hubby here and there on Instagram. By July 2023, TMZ announced that the couple is now "heading for divorce."

The strange rumor of the couple already being separated started on January 1, 2022, when a fan revealed that Ariana allegedly confided in her group chat with fans about having relationship problems. The discussions delve deeper when someone brought up how Ariana sent Manchester victims cards with only her signature on them when previously it would include Dalton's. 

On March 20, 2022, Dalton's brother Dakota got married. Fans expected to see snapshots of Ariana attending the happy ceremony, but there was no proof that she was there.

Here's where things get even more confusing. Fan accounts dedicated to Ariana and Dalton claimed that they've been together since 2019 (much earlier than when their relationship was announced) and planned an anniversary event where Ariana was given a new engagement ring. Forum users suggest this was a "second wedding" to give the illusion that Ariana is "capable of being in a committed relationship after multiple cheating accusations and relationship overlaps."

In February 2023, paparazzi spotted Ariana and Dalton in London. One month later, in March, stans noticed that Ariana wasn't wearing her ring, and Dalton's friends didn't like any of her recent Instagram posts. Around this same time, the first photo of Ariana and Ethan got posted on Michelle Yeoh's Instagram. 

That same month, Ariana decided to scrap "He Had It Comin'," a leaked song for her sixth album, Positions. The lyrics are, well, telling. She sings about "a boy" she fell in love with at first sight, but that he "had a wife and a thing on the side."  

"Y'all.... I just heard another snippet called 'He Had it Comin',’ and in that one she's singing about getting revenge on a married man with kids who she was sleeping with," a user on Lipstick Alley speculated. "Unless this song is fictional, did she admit to having an affair with a married man?? Normally I would assume it's fiction, but this is Ariana we're talking about here." Oof.

On March 31, 2023, Ariana's family and her friends fly out to London to visit her, but Dalton is nowhere to be found, and his Instagram was also deactivated. Even more social media users began speculating that Ariana and Dalton were over. This theory was fueled after a girl on TikTok admitted to hanging out with Dalton in April. 

I'm not gonna lie, the people who follow Ariana's every move are pretty scary. Some wrote about Ethan and Ariana three months ago, and they predicted some of the announcements we're hearing about now. On April 8, someone wrote: "So apparently some Twitter stans peeped that Ariana and her Wicked co-stars Ethan Slater (who is playing Boq) have unfollowed each other on IG. He's married and his wife is currently pregnant. And with all the theories and rumors about Dalton issues – should I say it or are y'all already thinking it too?" 

In May 2023, Ariana posts a sweet two-year anniversary tribute to Dalton on her Instagram Story. "I love him so," she wrote on a photo of them kissing.

On June 27, 2023, a source informed DeuxMoi that Dalton and Ariana were no longer together, and instead, according to the insider, she celebrated her birthday with...Ethan Slater and another woman. This brings us to today.

Ethan Slater’s Wife “Devastated” by the News 

Days after revealing that Dalton and Ariana are over, TMZ said that the "Right There" singer is allegedly dating Ethan Slater. Fans weren't too keen on hearing this news, though, because the Spongebob Squarepants Broadway star dedicated a Mother's Day post to his wife, Lilly Jay, back in May. Other sources insist that Ariana and Ethan got together while they were single, but a lot of people aren't buying it.

The situation sounds bad because the DailyMail claims that Ariana "hung out with Ethan Slater's wife, Lilly Jay, and baby while having an affair with him." Ariana reportedly even held their baby and said she wanted to become a mom. If this is true and I was Lilly, you'd have to institutionalize me.

According to PageSix, Lilly insinuates that Ariana is not a "girl's girl," and that her "family is just collateral damage.” Another source reported that Lilly is "completely blindsided” by their purported budding romance.

So, is it possible Ariana and Ethan were fooling around behind Lilly's back? We hope not, but it seems many fans think so. If you've made it this far but are still unsure about the whole situation, here's a quick summary to help you.

• Spring of 2022 – Fans are suspicious about Ariana and Dalton’s relationship.

• January 2023 – Papz take pictures of Ariana and Dalton, but they don't seem "love dovey" to some people.

• March 2023 – Fans notice that Ariana is not wearing a ring, and she's pictured with Ethan for the first time ever.

• March 28, 2023 – Ariana's song about sleeping with a married man gets leaked.

• April 2023 – Ariana and Ethan reportedly unfollow each other.

• May 2023 – Ethan dedicates an Instagram post to his wife and child. Ariana likes it. 

• July 17, 2023 – TMZ announces that Ariana Grande and Dalton are “heading for divorce.” 

• July 20, 2023 – TMZ reveals that Ariana is reportedly dating her Wicked co-star and that their relationship began “several months ago.” 

Closing Thoughts

We don’t know the entire truth about Ariana and her past relationships. All we get are snippets and whispers from so-called “insiders,” so it’s important not to take everything as truth. And while Ariana has had an incredibly successful career, it’s important to remember that her time in the spotlight hasn’t been easy – it’s been traumatizing. As she's revealed this year, Ariana has been struggling with her mental health.

“The second thing is, you never know what someone is going through. So even if you are coming from a loving place and a caring place,” she said in a video, “that person probably is working on it or has a support system they are working on it with. You never know. So be gentle with each other and with yourselves.”

“Sending you guys a lot of love, and I think you're beautiful no matter what you're going through. No matter what weight. No matter how you like to do your makeup these days, no matter what cosmetic procedures you've had or not. Or, anything,” she concluded. “Yeah, I just think you're beautiful and wanted to share some feelings. Have a very beautiful day, and I'm sending you a lot of love."

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