Ariana Grande Changed "Thank U, Next" Lyrics Amid Ethan Slater Breakup
Ariana Grande is singing a different tune these days.
Shortly before her breakup from Wicked costar Ethan Slater was made public on June 8, the Grammy winner changed the lyrics to “Thank U, Next” during the opening night of her Eternal Sunshine Tour in Oakland, Calif., alluding to her 2023 divorce from Dalton Gomez as well as her parents’ once-fractured relationship.
As seen in a video of the June 6 posted on X, Grande slightly tweaked the bridge of her song, in which she typically sang, “One day I’ll walk down the aisle holding hands with my mama / I’ll be thanking my dad, ‘cause she grew from the drama.” Instead, the 32-year-old touched on how her mom Joan Grande and dad Ed Butera amicably moved on from their 2002 divorce, singing, “We all grew from the drama.”
And while the next line was, “Only wanna do it once real bad, gonna make that s--t last,” Grande opted not to sing and gave the audience a knowing look as she held up two fingers and laughed.
Grande and Gomez tied the knot during a private ceremony at her Montecito, Calif., home in May 2021. The couple’s split was made public in July 2023 and they finalized the divorce three months later.
Following the breakup, the “7 Rings” singer began a relationship with Slater after the two met on the set of Wicked. However, a source told E! on June 8 the duo were no longer a couple, saying, “They have quietly been broken up after nearly three years together."
Prior to their split, Grande had been candid about the difficulties the two faced during their time together, especially as they both denied that the start of their romance overlapped with their previous marriages. (Slater finalized his divorce from ex Lily Jay in 2024. The two share one son.)
“It definitely doesn’t get any easier, seeing some of the negativity that was birthed by disreputable tabloids,” Grande told Vanity Fair in 2024. “Of course, I went through a lot of life changes during the filming of this movie. A lot of people that were working on it did.”
“There couldn’t be a less accurate depiction of a human being than the one that the tabloids spread about him,” she said of Slater at the time. “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 bulls--t tabloid can rewrite in real life.”
For a look back at Grande and Slater’s relationship, keep reading.
After a source close to the couple—who met on the set of Wicked—told E! News they had “recently” begun dating in July 2023, Grande subtly supported Slater by “liking” a photo announcing his role in Spamalot on Broadway in early September 2023.
Later that same month, the two were seen out together for the first time at, naturally, Grande’s favorite place on Earth, Disney World. In photos shared by TMZ, the duo walked around the Florida theme park arm-in-arm.
A source close to Grande and Slater told E! News after the excursion, “they went with a big group of friends including her mom and brother and are really happy and really good for each other.”
The costars engaged in some subtle PDA at dinner in New York City in photos obtained by TMZ. A few weeks later, Grande stepped out to support Slater during previews of Spamalot on Broadway where he played The Historian/Prince Herbert.
Grande was gleaming as she made her way out of St. James Theater alongside friends, sporting a paper crown from the show and clutching a Playbill.
Grande later attended the opening night of Spamalot and shared an Instagram post highlighting her evening. In the photos, Grande sported an elegant black dress and accessorized with sheer black gloves and a Spamalot cup. The last slide of her carousel included a nod to the cast—which included Slater—with a message reading, “Happy Opening of Broadway Show.”
In a rare life update on Instagram in Dec. 2023, Grande showed off some of her holiday celebrating a photo of a wall Christmas tree with a Spam can ornament. Fans quickly pointed out the connection to Slater, as Spamalot was running on Broadway at the time.
On Dec. 23, 2023, the couple stepped out with Grande’s father Ed Butera for dinner in New York City.
That same month, Grande teased new music and would go on to announce Eternal Sunshine in early 2024. Although no songs are explicitly about Slater on the album, fans pointed out that the album’s initials, E.S., coincidentally—or not—match the initials of Ariana’s boyfriend.
In March 2024, Ariana and ex Dalton Gomez finalized their divorce. That summer, Grande’s brother Frankie Grande gave her new romance his stamp of approval.
“I love him,” Frankie said of Slater in a June 2024 interview with TooFab. “He’s a very sweet guy.”
A few days after Frankie’s interview went live, Grande and Slater attended the 2024 Stanley Cup final in Florida together—marking their most public joint outing since their romance debut.
In an interview with Vanity Fair published in Sept. 2024, Grande addressed her romance with Slater publicly for the first time—pushing back on the speculation of the couple's romantic timeline overlapping with their previous relationships.
“It definitely doesn’t get any easier, seeing some of the negativity that was birthed by disreputable tabloids,” she told the outlet. “Of course, I went through a lot of life changes during the filming of this movie. A lot of people that were working on it did.”
Grande went on to defend Slater against any negativity thrown at him.
“There couldn’t be a less accurate depiction of a human being than the one that the tabloids spread about him,” Grande added. “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.”
That same month, Slater finalized his divorce with ex Lilly Jay—with whom he shares a young son.
A month after he showed support for Grande’s October 2024 Saturday Night Live hosting gig, Slater addressed their relationship—and the scrutiny surrounding it—for the first time.
“It was an amazing year and a really beautiful thing,” Slater reflected on falling in love with Grande while filming Wicked in a Oct. 2024 GQ interview. “I’m just really excited. I’m just really, really proud of Ari and the work she’s done on this. She’s poured herself into it.”
Still, Slater admitted he found it difficult to wait for people to like him again as they clung to their papers and pens.
“I think there was something that was really difficult about things in your private life being commented on and looked at by the public,” he added. “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.”
But he was able to block out the noise somewhat. As he added of Grande’s song “Imperfect For You,” which is rumored to be about him, “I love that song.”
One short day in the Emerald City, or rather in the Australian city of Sydney, Grande and Slater attended a press event for Wicked and wrapped their arms around each other.
First-time nominee Grande's magical night at the 2025 Oscars continued with a hug from her date.
Amid speculation that they had broken up, not least due to the lesser hysteria leading up to the release of Wicked: For Good than there was for the first film, Grande shut down breakup rumors by making sure to include a photo of herself with Slater in her Instagram carousel from the sequel's Nov. 10 London premiere.
On June 8, a source told E! News the pair had "broken up after nearly three years together."
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