Ethan Slater has heaped praised on his girlfriend Ariana Grande, after she landed her first ever Oscar nomination for her performance in Wicked.

The actor, 32, has been dating the pop star, 31, since 2023 after meeting on the set of the hit musical film, in which she starred as Glinda and he played munchkin Boq.

Ariana admitted she couldn’t stop bawling her eyes out after scoring a nod for Best Actress at this year’s Academy Awards, while her co-star Cynthia Erivo was also nominated for her performance as Elphaba.

And now Ethan has voiced his ‘unendingly pride’ for his girlfriend, as he lauded her and Cynthia’s ‘incredible’ hard work in both the film and the promotion campaign.

Speaking to Us Weekly, he gushed: ‘I’m unbelievably proud of her. She worked so hard. She and Cynthia worked so unbelievably hard to not only make this movie and be the best versions of Glinda and Elphaba, but to promote it. They’re incredible. I’m unendingly proud.’ 

He went on to tease what fans could look forward to with the release of Wicked part two next year, saying: ‘I think people have seen already how Ariana and Cynthia have given such emotional depth to their characters and Ari in particular; her comedy is so good, and yet there’s a real truth and grounding to it.

Ethan Slater has heaped praised on his girlfriend Ariana Grande , after she landed her first ever Oscar nomination for her performance in Wicked (pictured together last month) 

The actor, 32, has been dating the pop star, 31, since 2023 after meeting on the set of the hit musical film, in which she starred as Glinda (pictured) and he played munchkin Boq

‘I think what might surprise people is how far that goes in such a beautiful way. I haven’t gotten to see it yet, so I’m just remembering from what I saw on the day [we filmed]. But on the day, it was really special to witness.’

Ariana will be facing stiff compeтιтion in the Best Supporting Actress category at next month’s Oscars, going up against Felicity Jones in The Brutalist, Zoe Saldana in Emilia Perez, Isabella Rossellini in Conclave and Monica Barbaro in a A Complete Unknown.

Wicked landed a whopping 10 nominations in total at the prestigious awards, marking a significant milestone for the Broadway adaptation.

After her nomination was announced, Ariana took to Instagram with a lengthy thank you message, alongside pH๏τo of herself as a child in a Dorothy from Wizard Of Oz costume. 

She wrote: ‘Picking my head up in between sobs to say thank you so much to @theacademy for this unfathomable recognition. I cannot stop crying, to no one’s surprise. 

‘I’m humbled and deeply honored to be in such brilliant company and sharing this with tiny ari who sat and studied Judy Garland singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow just before the big, beautiful bubble entered. i’m so proud of you, tiny.

‘Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart, for this acknowledgement @theacademy.’

Giving a special shout out to her co-star Cynthia and director Jon Chu, she went on: ‘Thank you @jonmchu for taking this chance on me and for being the most unbelievably brilliant leader, human being, and most fierce friend. i am so deeply proud of my beautiful Wicked family. 

Ariana admitted she couldn’t stop bawling her eyes out after scoring a nod for Best Actress at this year’s Academy Awards, while her co-star Cynthia Erivo was also nominated for her performance as Elphaba (pictured last month)

And now Ethan has voiced his ‘unendingly pride’ for his girlfriend, as he lauded her and Cynthia’s ‘incredible’ hard work in both the film and the promotion campaign (pictured together this month)

Speaking to Us Weekly, he gushed: ‘I ’m unbelievably proud of her. She worked so hard. She and Cynthia worked so unbelievably hard to not only make this movie and be the best versions of Glinda and Elphaba, but to promote it. They’re incredible. I’m unendingly proud’ 

‘I am so proud of my Elphie, my sister, my dear @cynthiaerivo. your brilliance is never ending and you deserve every flower (tulip) in every garden. i love you unconditionally, always.

‘I don’t quite have all my words yet, i’m still trying to breathe. but thank you. oh my goodness, thank you. Universal, Marc, my family, my heart. Lemons and melons and pears, oh my.’

Ariana and Ethan’s relationship has been embroiled in controversy, as it began amid the break down of both of their marriages.

Ariana was previously married to Dalton Gomez for two years until their divorce was finalized in March last year.

While Ethan had been married to his childhood sweetheart Lilly Jay, 32, for five years and welcomed their baby boy to the world in August 2022, before they sadly divorced in September last year.

Speaking about the public backlash about his personal life, Ethan previously admitted to GQ magazine: ‘Obviously, it was a really super big year. 

‘I think there was something that was really difficult about things in your private life being commented on and looked at by the public.

‘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. So just to address that part of it, that feels really hard.’

After her nomination was announced, Ariana took to Instagram with a lengthy thank you message , alongside pH๏τo of herself as a child in a Dorothy from Wizard Of Oz costume 

He added: ‘But, of course, it was an amazing year and a really beautiful thing, and I’m just really excited.”

He added: ‘But, of course, it was an amazing year and a really beautiful thing, and I’m just really excited.’

Lilly broke her silence on Ethan’s new romance with Ariana in an emotional essay in The Cut in December, where she got candid about the ‘public downfall of her marriage.’

She recalled moving both herself and her then two-month-old baby boy to London while Ethan filmed Wicked – before he left her for Ariana after they met on set.

Lilly further reflected on how she never expected to get a divorce after tying the knot with her high school sweetheart – but emphasized both she and her ex focus to positively co-parent their son.

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

Seemingly referencing Ethan and Ariana, she wrote: ‘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.’

Ariana and Ethan’s relationship has been embroiled in controversy, as it began amid the break down of both of their marriages (Ariana pictured with ex-husband Dalton)

Ariana was previously married to Dalton Gomez for two years until their divorce was finalized in March last year (pictured together)

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

Lilly admitted 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 as a psychologist and reflected on ‘the unfairness of a public divorce.’ 

She said: ‘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.’

She continued: ‘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’.

While in a subtle jab at her ex-husband, she added: ‘Both of us fiercely love our son 100 percent of the time, regardless of how our parenting time is divided.’

After Lilly’s essay was published, a source told DailyMail.com that both Ethan and Ariana were ‘relieved’ she did not ‘throw them under the bus.’ 

While Ethan had been married to his childhood sweetheart Lilly Jay, 32, for five years and welcomed their baby boy to the world in August 2022, before they sadly divorced in September last year (pictured together in 2018)

Lilly broke her silence on Ethan’s new romance with Ariana in an emotional essay in The Cut in December, where she got candid about the ‘public downfall of her marriage’ 

They said: ‘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.

‘Filming was still occurring when they were first seen being intimate in pH๏τos and Lilly was no longer there so people can put two and two together – Lilly didn’t need to.’

Lilly and Ethan’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 Lilly 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, who 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.

She recalled moving both herself and her then two-month-old baby boy to London while Ethan filmed Wicked – before he left her for Ariana after they met on set 

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

‘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.