Ariana Grande says the rumors she’s endured while living in the public eye never get any less “unpainful.”
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter for a new cover story, the two-time Grammy winner opened up about facing criticism stemming from her rumored relationship with boyfriend and “Wicked” costar Ethan Slater, and how the drama has affected her emotionally.
“It’ll never be unpainful,” Grande said of the gossip. “But also, I walk with the awareness that I’m an artist and this is a path that I’ve chosen, and so I just try to protect myself so that I never start to resent the art.”
The pop star and Slater have kept their relationship largely under wraps. Grande was previously married to real estate broker Dalton Gomez. The pair finalized their divorce in March 2024.
Slater also was married to therapist Lilly Jay, with whom he shares a young child. Slater and Jay settled their divorce in September 2024.
Shortly after the news broke that Grande split from Gomez, reports emerged that the singer was dating Slater, which stirred up questions and concerns about the pair’s relationship timeline on social media.
It’s unclear when Grande and Slater started dating, but a source close to the couple said it was after both separated from their spouses.
“Ariana and Dalton separated in January,” one insider told People. “She and Ethan recently began dating, and he is separated from his wife.”
Grande and Slater made their relationship Instagram official in November 2024.
The “We can’t be friends” singer broke her silence about the public’s negative reaction to her relationship with Slater in an interview with Vanity Fair last September.
“The most disappointing part was to see so many people believe the worst version of it,” she told the publication. “There couldn’t be a less accurate depiction of a human being than the one that the tabloids spread about him.”
Grande called out the criticisms and depictions of Slater as someone who left his wife and baby to date her as “bullshit.”
“No one on this earth tries harder or spreads themselves thinner to be there for the people that he loves and cares about. There is no one on this earth with a better heart, and that is something that no bullshit tabloid can rewrite in real life,” she added.
Watch a clip from Grande’s interview below.