Lilly Jay, Ethan Slater's ex-wife, is finally breaking her silence.
Following her divorce from the Wicked star and his highly publicized relationship with Ariana Grande, the therapist -- who shares a 2-year-old son with Slater -- has opened up about where she and her ex currently stand. While she remains composed, Jay admitted she's still grappling with the emotional and professional fallout from their split.
"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," Jay shared in an essay for The Cut. "While our partnership has changed, our parenthood has not. Both of us fiercely love our son 100 percent of the time, regardless of how our parenting time is divided."
"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," she added, of course referring to Wicked.
Jay, a former actress, spent a decade with Slater, including four years of marriage, before finalizing their divorce in September 2023. Beyond the personal toll, she revealed that the public nature of their separation has also affected her career as a therapist.
"I can't say for sure how much my career has been impacted by what's out there online. But there have been hints along the way, like the job offer that dissolved without explanation after yet another tabloid news cycle or the patient who's scheduled for a first appointment but seemingly vanishes," Jay revealed.
The Maryland native's reflections come after more than a year of silence and just weeks after Wicked, starring both Slater and Grande, premiered.
Earlier this year, both Grande and Slater addressed the controversy surrounding their relationship, which coincided with the end of their respective marriages -- Slater to Jay and Grande to Dalton Gomez.
"The most disappointing part was to see so many people believe the worst version of it. That was definitely a tough ride," Grande told Cosmopolitan, referring to rumors the two had an affair.
Grande went on to share that the media did not depict Slater accurately during the scandal.
"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. 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," she said.
The singer turned the attention to her and shared how the inaccurate depictions of their relationship affected her.
"Honestly, it's taken me a lot of hard work to be able to last this long and to heal certain parts of my relationship to fame and to what I do because of these tabloids that have been trying to destroy me since I was 19 years old. But you know what? I'm 31 years old and I'm not a perfect person, but I am definitely deeply good, and I'm proud of who I'm becoming. I will never let disreputable evil tabloids ruin my life or my perception of what is real and good," Grande added.
Despite the challenges, Slater described 2023 as an "amazing" year, highlighting the resilience of all involved parties.
"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 told GQ. "And then getting things wrong about the people you love. Just to address that part of it feels really hard."
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