IT is her biggest movie moment ever – a “dream” role in a much-hyped film tipped to bag her an Oscar – but it has not been with-out cost for Ariana Grande.
The 31-year-old music superstar has gone from pop princess to bona fide Hollywood leading lady, playing Glinda the Good Witch in Wicked.
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But along the way she has been accused of being a homewrecker and leaving “collateral damage” after splitting from her husband and reportedly having an affair with her married co-star — just months after his wife gave birth to their son.
The One Last Time hitmaker and Ethan Slater, 32, are said to have fallen for each other on set in London after filming began in December 2022.
At the time, former Nickelodeon star Ariana was wed to luxury real estate agent Dalton Gomez, 29.
The couple divorced in March, citing irreconcilable differences, after nearly three years of marriage.
Tony-nominated actor Ethan, best known for playing Spongebob Squarepants on Broadway, plays Boq, a Munchkin who falls in love with Ariana’s character.
US actor Ethan filed for divorce from high school sweetheart Lilly Jay in July last year.
At the time, Lilly told US website Page Six: “[Ariana’s] the story, really. Not a girl’s girl. My family is just collateral damage.”
It is understood Ethan had already parted with singer Lilly, but she was reported to have felt blindsided by the new relationship after Ariana spent time with them as a couple and their son Ezra, now two.
Ariana even “liked” an Instagram Mother’s Day tribute to Lilly from Ethan in May last year.
The co-stars went public with their romance in September last year after being spotted walking arm in arm at Disney World.
Last month, the pop star opened up about her boyfriend and the allegations surrounding their love story.
She told Vanity Fair magazine: “I went through a lot of life changes during the filming of this movie.
“A lot of people that were working on it did. We were away for two years.”
“The most disappointing part was to see so many people believe the worst version of it.”
While Ariana insists she will “never go into certain details”, she added of Ethan: “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.”
Felt blindsided
A source told The Sun: “Ari is determined not to let what’s happened in her private life overshadow the film.”
They said Ariana would be promoting the movie alongside Cynthia Erivo, 37, who plays the Wicked Witch Elphaba “but any questions about her and Ethan will be off limits”.
The source added: “She has said all that she wants to say on her album Eternal Sunshine.”
Her seventh album detailed the breakdown of her marriage and falling in love once more, and went straight in at the top of the UK charts in March.
The movie part is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and somewhat of a full circle moment for Ariana, a self-proclaimed “theatre kid”.
The singer had dubbed Glinda her “dream role” in a 2011 tweet after watching the stage show — a decade before she was cast.
I went through a lot of life changes filming Wicked. A lot of people working on it did. We were away for two years. The most disappointing part was how so many people believe the worst version of it
Ariana Grande
Learning in a last-minute Zoom call that she had won the part had a profound effect.
Ariana said: “My body was shaking. I have never felt that way in my life.”
The film, a movie adaptation of the hit Broadway musical also stars Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey and Peter Dinklage.
It has generated such a huge buzz that some say it could well take $1billion at the box office.
Last week the Kardashian family were treated to a private screening a month before its November 22 release — with momager Kris Jenner calling it the “best night ever”.
And, yesterday, fans were sent into meltdown with a new compilation teaser showcasing the singer’s vocals.
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Ariana shot to fame at just 16, starring as Cat Valentine in the Nickelodeon TV series Victorious and its spin-off Sam & Cat.
Despite dominating the charts and selling out arenas worldwide for a decade, she had to relearn how to perform for the big screen.
Ariana said: “It is so different (to being a popstar) for a multitude of reasons. I’m not telling my own story, I’m telling Glinda’s.
“I get the opportunity thankfully to disappear fully into someone else in a way that I never do when I am performing or singing.
“For me that was every single part of it, from my voice to my physicality and finding her. I was learning how I could offer myself to her to the best of my ability — finding that balance between honouring the Glinda we know and love for 21 years and bringing my own truth to her somehow.
“It was very different for me as I have never been required to do all of that at once while being someone else. With pop music I am telling my stories, it is me.
‘We had quite the ride’
“This is completely, obviously, the opposite. It was the most amazing honour of my life. We had quite the ride.”
The film may also give Ariana another chart hit, as she will feature on Wicked: The Soundtrack, released via Republic Records/Verve Records on November 22.
It will include her version of the play’s standout tracks — Popular and a duet with Cynthia on stage epic Defying Gravity.
In what will no doubt become a divisive move for fans, the film has been split into two, with the second instalment due to be released in November next year.
Before then, Ariana will return to live music.
Our source added: “Ari has no desire to embark on a huge world tour but a number of arena-sized dates have been pencilled in for 2025 including shows in the UK.
“It’s a perfect time for her to hit the road for a short while in between the two Wicked films.”
Tickets for UK screenings of Wicked: Part One go on sale on Friday, with it set to be one of the biggest films of the year.
Early pre-sales in the US estimate a domestic opening weekend take of $133million to $164million.
Gladiator II drops on November 15 in the UK and its star Paul Mescal said he hopes it and Wicked enjoy a box office battle to rival last year’s Barbie vs Oppenheimer, which was dubbed Barbenheimer.
In development since 2012, Wicked was shot at Sky Studios Elstree, North London, and is one of the biggest movies ever filmed on home soil.
While CGI and green screens play a vital role in bringing the West End tale to life, most of the set was built from the ground up — including nine million tulips being planted to create the fields of Oz.
Ari has no desire to embark on a huge world tour but a number of arena-sized dates have been pencilled in 2025 including shows in the UK
Sun source
Director Jon M Chu said: “We wanted this place to be physical.
“We had a 16-ton Emerald City train that actually moved on tracks and they could jump on to and we had planted nine million tulips.
“The studio was like, ‘Do you really need to plant nine million tulips?’. We built the Emerald City. You could walk through the Emerald City, go into the bakery shop and look at what kind of sweets they had.
“You could go into the salon and sit in the chair — you could see the shampoo and the bottles which said they were from Oztec — so many different things.
“And of course, Munchkin Land and Shiz University where boats come in.
“This is a spectacle on a huge scale. Of course we have great GCI artists but the two coming together is where we meet.”
And no doubt, just like one of the film’s hit songs, Ariana will feel like she is defying gravity on Oscars night — and heading to a fairytale ending.