Ethan Slater's ex-wife makes heartbreaking admission about Ariana Grande relationship amid cheating rumours

Following a turbulent year, Lilly Jay insists she's finally ready to look to the future.

In an emotional admission - made in her first public statement since the very public breakdown of her marriage to Ethan Slater, who allegedly 'left her' for Wicked co-star Ariana Grande - she claimed she's holding onto hope for a more stable life for their son.

Movie star Slater, 32, is understood to have first cosied up to 31-year-old Grande after being cast together alongside Cynthia Erivo and Jonathan Bailey in the magical musical.

The pair only went public with their romance earlier this summer, however - just weeks after ending things with their respective partners.

'Thank U Next' singer Grande filed for divorce from now-ex-husband Dalton Gomez, and Slater separated from wife Lilly Jay, who he's been romantically involved with since they were teenagers.

The latter wed in 2018 and went on to welcome a baby boy in August 2022.

Naturally, therefore, when the Wicked castmates confirmed they were in a relationship earlier this year following mass speculation, not only was Grande branded a 'homewrecker' by critics, but Slater was forced to defend his position as a father.

"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," he told GQ at the time.

This week, however, in a bombshell first-person piece, the actor's ex-wife has now had her say, releasing a statement to The Cut.

The couple went public with their romance earlier this year (Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)

Reflecting on her past relationship, she writes: "Slowly but surely, I have come to believe that in the absence of the life I planned with my high-school sweetheart, a lifetime of sweetness is waiting for me and my child."

In lines which has sent shockwaves around the internet, 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."

In the piece, Jay also writes that she hoped her son would serve as a distraction when she was first dealt the brutal blow that Slater had moved on to a 'celebrity', careful not to name the singer/actress explicitly.

"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, marvelling 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."

She went on to add: "Days with my son are sunny. Days when I can’t escape the promotion of a movie associated with the saddest days of my life are darker."

The exes have a two-year-old son (Theo Wargo/Getty Images)

People are now casting their opinions - with many slamming the couple for how they got together.

One person wrote on X: "Feel so bad for Lilly Jay, nearly dying in childbirth, moving across the world for her husband's career, only for him to cheat and leave her for a pop star.

"Ethan Slater and Ariana Grande should be ashamed of themselves."

It has been reported that the relationship began following the breakdown of Slater's relationship with Jay, and the collapse of Grande's marriage to Dalton Gomez.

Another person wrote: "Ethan Slater filing for divorce 2 months after his (ex)wife survived preeclampsia and gave birth to their son… i feel so sorry for her, that is such a well written article about what she went through."

And a third said: "Almost dying from eclampsia, moving to a whole other continent with your 2 month old away from your family— to support a man that repays you by leaving to be with another woman? I hope she never lets him know peace."

Tyla has reached out to representatives of Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater for comment.