Exclusive | Inside ‘needy’ Ariana Grande’s ‘on

Ariana Grande tries to keep her private life to herself, but it always threatens to overshadow her talent.

The star has a new tour, a new album and an upcoming starring role in one of Hollywood’s most beloved comedy franchises.

But this week Grande, 32, found herself back in the spotlight for another reason — her split from boyfriend Ethan Slater, 34, after nearly three years together.

While multiple sources told Page Six the couple split “several” months ago, they had actually been “on/off” even before that.

When rumors first surfaced they were on the outs back in the fall, one pal of Grande’s told us, “If I had to look into my crystal ball would I think they would stay together? No.”

So, what went wrong with Slater?

There were gasps when he turned up to see Grande as she hosted the “Saturday Night Live” holiday show on December 20.

“I thought they were broken up,” said one onlooker at the dress rehearsal attended by Page Six, as the couple had not been seen together in weeks.

“People definitely were surprised that Ethan turned up,” a TV insider told us, “No-one thought they were together… they were on off, on off, on off.”

Photos of the pair at “SNL” were posted on Instagram by Grande’s friend, Elizabeth Gillies, then Slater shared a glimpse of his “very merry” holidays with Grande that same month; but it was the last photo of them together.

Grande and Slater, 34, a noted Broadway performer, were accused of being “cheaters” as soon they got together, while both working on the London set of the movie smash “Wicked”, to which Slater had brought his then-wife and young son.

It was first confirmed they were dating in July 2023 — three days after Grande announced her marriage breakdown from husband Dalton Gomez, prompting Slater’s estranged wife, Dr. Lilly Jay, to label her husband’s new squeeze “not a girl’s girl”.

“My family is just collateral damage,” Jay seethed to Page Six, later writing in an essay in The Cut how her life was upended by Slater’s romance with Grande.

“I confidently moved to another country with my two-month-old baby and my husband to support his career. Consumed by the magic and mundanity of new motherhood, I didn’t understand the growing distance between us,” she wrote.

Sources claim Grande can be hard to keep pace with, in her work or private life.

“As a professional, Ari’s good to work with, she’s so talented. As a human, she can be…needy,” an industry professional who has worked with the former child star told us.

Another source who knows Grande also insisted, “There was no cheating…neither of them should have been branded cheaters, that’s not who either of them are.”

Even Grande’s ex-fiancé, comic Pete Davidson, has rushed to her defense, as a friend of the former “Saturday Night Live” star said although they had not spoken in a while, he remains extremely protective of her.

“She’s been through a lot in her life, and Pete admires her so much, she just keeps working and just keeps outdoing herself,” said the pal.

Grande and Davidson famously got engaged weeks after they started dating in May 2018, celebrating with matching tattoos and Davidson lavishing a $93,000 ring on his love. However, they split that October just a month after Grande was left reeling by the death of her ex-boyfriend, rapper Mac Miller from a drug overdose, aged 26.

In January, Grande revealed how Miller had encouraged her to step out of the shadows of her Nickelodeon character Cat Valentine for her 2013 debut album, “Yours Truly”.

“I’ve never talked about this, but actually Malcolm, whom you might know as Mac, encouraged me to be myself,” she shared on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast. “And that it was OK to kind of shed that character, and embrace my brown hair, and make R&B-influenced pop music and separate and do the brave thing.”

Further reflecting on Miller’s advice, the “7 Rings” singer added, “It was a great influence, I’m so very grateful for that.”

She went on to marry Gomez, a luxury estate agent, at an intimate ceremony with fewer than 20 guests at her home in Montecito, California, in May 2021. Gomez reportedly flew to London to try to save their marriage, but their divorce was finalized in March 2014.

Grande had appeared to shrug off the furor surrounding her relationship with Slater, defending the romance in her 2024 song “Yes, And?” with the lyrics, “Your business is yours, and mine is mine. Why do you care so much whose d—k I ride?”

But by the time Grande and Slater embarked on their global press tour for the “Wicked” sequel, “Wicked: For Good” late last year, things were on the rocks, we’re told, and they stayed away from each other at various premieres.

Slater, who played Bock in the movie based on the hit musical, would not talk about Grande, who won plaudits and an Oscar nomination as Glinda the good witch.

Notably, he skirted “Today” show host Craig Melvin’s question in November 2025 about “working with [his] girlfriend every day” — instead, praising the “entire cast” of the movie as “incredible.”

He called Grande “brilliant” and co-star Cynthia Erivo “remarkable” during the interview, adding, “I’m so proud of everyone I got to work with. We’re, like, a family.”

Slater was absent from the opening show of Grande’s “Eternal Sunshine” tour, which kicked off last weekend at California’s Oakland Arena, but did show support via Instagram “likes.”

During the show, Grande poked fun at her failed marriage to Gomez while singing her 2019 hit “Thank U, Next,” a song famously about her ex-boyfriends, including Davidson, Miller and Big Sean.

The lyrics include, “One day I’ll walk down the aisle / Holding hands with my mama … Only wanna do it once, real bad / Gon’ make that last.”

After singing, “Only wanna do it once, real bad” on Saturday, Grande playfully held up two fingers and laughed, seemingly referring to her being open to remarrying.

This weekend, Grande will perform at two sell-out shows at the Crypto Arena in Downtown LA.

One source who knows Grande said she is cautious about letting new people into her inner circle and has a close-knit group of friends alongside her brother, Frankie Grande, with whom she likes to hang out with at home, playing board games; she is famously obsessed with Monopoly.

“She doesn’t want to go out a lot,” said the source, “She is much happier with her friends at home.”

This November, Grande will also promote “Focker-in -Law”, a sequel to the hit movie “Meet the Fockers” starring Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro. She plays Olivia Jones, an intimidating former FBI hostage negotiator and the prospective bride to Henry Focker, son of Stiller and Teri Polo’s characters.

Stiller, also the director, called Grande a “brilliant comedic actress” and the “whole engine” of the new movie.

And despite her split from Slater, don’t expect her to go all Taylor Swift and sing about her ex on her new album “Petal”, friends say.

“She and Ethan are still friends, ” said one friend, “This is not a dramatic breakup, it’s not like that at all…it was not an overnight thing, it was a thoughtful decision, there’s no break in communication.” 

As for her new album, “It’s not about romantic love,” said a friend, “It’s Ari’s way of responding to all the headlines.”