Ariana Grande, Ethan Slater Share Rare PDA on ‘Wicked’ Red Carpet

Ariana Grande and her boyfriend, Ethan Slater, shared a rare moment of PDA as they walked the red carpet of the New York City premiere of Wicked on Thursday, Nov. 14 at the Museum of Modern Art.

Slater, who plays Boq in the Broadway interpretation, was photographed hugging Grande, who plays Glinda, in a brief encounter on the red carpet. The SpongeBob SquarePants star, 32, can be seen smiling after the sweet embrace before Grande, 31, returned to pose for the cameras.

Aside from their PDA moment, Slater and Grande kept their distance on the red carpet, but a TikTok video shows the couple leaving the premiere while holding hands. During the Los Angeles premiere of Wicked last week, the pair shared another affectionate moment as Grande was photographed adjusting Slater’s bow tie.

Slater and Grande met while filming Wicked, but both stars maintain their relationship didn’t turn romantic until they split from their respective spouses, Lilly Jay and Dalton Gomez.

The Tony Award-nominated actor spoke out about the backlash he and the “7 Rings” singer faced for their relationship in an October profile for GQ, saying, “I think there was something that was really difficult about things in your private life being commented on and looked at by the public.” The Broadway star continued, “There were a lot of big changes in private lives that were really happening, so it’s really hard to see people who don’t know anything about what’s happening commenting on it and speculating, and then getting things wrong about the people you love.”

Slater said that he’s weathered the storm by staying “really focused on the real people in my life, who those things affect, and doing right by every real person and not the Twitter people who comment on it.”

Grande also offered a rare public comment about her relationship with Slater recently, telling Vanity Fair in a Sept. 30 interview that she was upset with the public perception of her love.

“There couldn’t be a less accurate depiction of a human being than the one that the tabloids spread about him,” the “The Boy Is Mine” artist insisted. “No one on this earth tries harder or spreads themselves thinner to be there for the people that he loves and cares about.” The Grammy winner added, “There is no one on this earth with a better heart, and that is something that no bulls-t tabloid can rewrite in real life.”