It turned out that Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater's time together was not meant to be unlimited.

The Wicked-cute couple, who met in 2022 when production started on Jon M. Chu's two-part saga, have broken up after almost three years of dating, E! News confirmed.

Speculation that they were no longer together preceded the news, as it had been six months since the last notable sighting of the pair, when Slater showed up at the Saturday Night Live after-party to support Grande when she hosted in December.

But they lived the fairy tale while it lasted, the experience of shooting and then promoting the juggernaut that was Wicked changing everyone involved for good.

"I hope this isn’t all a dream because as present as i am attempting to be, it sure does feel like one," Ariana wrote on Instagram in April 2023. "happy halfway to this most beautiful crew. my fellow Ozians. my heart will be stuck here forever."

And while no one involved clarified what exactly happened and when, Grande admitted after the dust had settled that she was stricken by how many people assumed she was the wicked one in this bunch.

"I have never felt more pride or joy or love while simultaneously feeling so deeply misunderstood by people who don't know me, who piece whispers together and make what they want out of me and their assumptions of my life," she wrote in December 2023 on her Instagram Stories. "I have learned how much more important one of those things is than the other."

As she put it on a February 2024 episode of The Zach Sang Show, "I feel like we don't need to go into any specifics. But of course, there's an insatiable frustration, inexplicable, hellish feeling with watching people misunderstand the people you love, and you and anything."

As for Slater, Grande said, “There couldn’t be a less accurate depiction of a human being than the one that the tabloids spread about him."

“No one on this earth tries harder or spreads themselves thinner to be there for the people that he loves and cares about," she continued. "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.”

However, she and Slater did find time to simply enjoy dating, going to Disney World, hockey games, Broadway shows and more, while also supporting each other's non-Wicked work. When previews started for the Spamalot revival starring Slater in October 2023, Grande was there. And when she released her 2024 album eternal sunshine, Slater praised his girlfriend's awe-inspiring singing talent as well as songwriting prowess.

"There were a lot of big changes in private lives that were really happening," he told GQ at the time, "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.”  

Simultaneously, however, it had been "an amazing year," Slater added, “and I’m just really excited. I’m just really, really proud of Ari and the work she’s done on this."

He ceded the spotlight to Grande when she was nominated for a 2025 Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her magical turn as future good witch Glinda—she and Cynthia Erivo were stuck like glue all awards season—but he did join her for date nights at the subsequent SAG Awards and Oscars.

While they were largely out of sight leading up to the November premiere of Wicked: For Good, all seemed status quo as 2026 approached, such as when Slater was spied joining Grande after her third time hosting SNL.

But when he skipped the Globes in January, though Grande scored repeat recognition, his absence may have been a sign of which way the wind was blowing for the romantic portion of their relationship.

See how Grande and Slater went from friends and costars to more, and back again.