Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater enjoyed a date night at the National Board of Review Awards in New York City on Tuesday. It was their first date night in months after she recently attended the 2025 Golden Globes without him.
Inside the NBR gala, Ariana and Ethan were seen embracing before making their way to their table. It was the most PDA they’ve shown in public since Ariana snatched Ethan from his wife in 2023. Ethan had been married to his wife, Lilly Jay, for four years. He filed for divorce in July 2023.
Meanwhile, Ariana and her “Wicked” co-star Cynthia Erivo avoided each other on the step & repeat carpet at the NBR Awards.
They each received the NBR Spotlight Award at the event, while “Wicked” got the Best Film award.
But even before the NBR Awards, Ariana and Cynthia were subjects of a rumor that they have been hooking up behind the scenes.
Prior to the awards, Cynthia’s common-law wife, “The Chi” director Lena Waithe, 40, raised eyebrows on Instagram when she seemed to accuse Cynthia of hooking up with Ariana.
In a series of since-deleted posts in her Instagram Stories, Lena seemed to hint that Cynthia and Ariana are an item.
In one post, Lena wrote a popular quote about trust in relationships. The post was intentionally cut off:
“Maturity in a relationship is when you catch your mind as it is creating a false story about your partner, which is based on inner tension that is unrelated to them. Self-awareness helps decrease unnecessary conflict.”
In another deleted post, Lena wrote “I’m watching you guys in the press tour…”
Meanwhile, sharp-eyed observers noted that Lena and Cynthia were supposed to be seated together at the 2025 Golden Globes Awards on Sunday.
A look at the seating arrangement for the 2025 #GoldenGlobes. pic.twitter.com/MqJEehg1vH
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) January 4, 2025
However, during the telecast Ariana, 31, and Cynthia, 38, were sitting next to each other.
The way Ariana got so excited her gf claimed her publicly omg pic.twitter.com/HbMAzunRNS
— Liv? (@cowboyhoneyb) January 6, 2025
the craziest part of this is that they don’t even look at each other once. like cynthia just KNOWS to give her her hand when she removes it from her back and ariana just knows it’s there waiting for her to hold. IM SICK. pic.twitter.com/snhHfyoF5d
— shan (@wwbtfrost) January 6, 2025
Fans had a field day with the rumor that Cynthia and Ariana cheated on their partners with each other.
lena waithe’s worst nightmare: pic.twitter.com/rL89mriJ4p
— ??zari is manifesting ?? (@sweetener14stan) January 5, 2025
Social media users noted that Lena apparently lost Cynthia the same way she got her: by cheating on her ex, Alana Mayo, with Cynthia. Some of Lena’s followers called it “karma” that Lena is experiencing the same painful ordeal that she put Alana through.
Lena Waithe is gonna take that white girl out pic.twitter.com/0Q8KP9tuVA
— Gay Interrupted (@GeyInterrupted) January 6, 2025
Last month, Lena flashed her wedding ring while attending a party in Miami. She wore a wife beater with green cargo pants and throwback Air Jordans. My spy noted that Lena attended the party solo and stayed to herself all night.
