ARIANA Grande made a rare public appearance to support boyfriend Ethan Slater at the opening night of his New York City residency, The U.S. Sun can exclusively reveal.
Ethan, 31, kicked off his solo performance show at Café Carlyle on Tuesday, May 28 and many of his friends showed up, including his superstar girlfriend Ariana, 30.
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An eyewitness told The U.S. Sun that Ariana remained “low-key and was seated in the corner with an entourage.”
The intimate performance had about 60 people inside the restaurant, who looked on as Ethan took center stage with his microphone – and guitar for some songs – as his pianist, Marco Paguia, accompanied him.
“The room went dark when Ethan took the stage at 8:45pm and the only light that was on was shining on the stage,” the eyewitness said.
“Ariana was not noticed in the crowd until afterward when the lights went back on and everyone got up to either leave or wait to say hi to Ethan who was mingling with guests after.”
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The Thank U, Next singer made a “quick exit” after she said her goodbyes to her friends and had security guide her through the exit of The Carlyle hotel and into her awaiting car.
“Ariana and Ethan did not interact after the show was over because he was greeting his fans and it was obvious she did not want to steal the spotlight from him. She was just there to support him,” the eyewitness revealed.
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NOD TO WICKED
Although Ethan spent the major of time on stage singing songs about his childhood, Jewish upbringing, and early years of his career, he couldn’t help but not include a mention of his upcoming film, Wicked.
The trailer for the much-anticipated movie adaptation of the Broadway musical was released on May 15.
At Café Carlyle, Ethan told the crowd, “I got to spend a year filming the Wicked movies and it was just the honor of a lifetime to play Boq, and I really wanted to share some of that with you tonight.”
First, he joked about how he thought he should sing March of the Witch Hunters because it was an “inside joke,” but then went on to perform the Tin Man’s song, If I Only Had A Heart.
Ethan and Ariana met on the set of Wicked – she plays Glinda, the Good Witch – while filming in 2022.
They reportedly started dating last summer when their relationship was confirmed in July 2023.
The couple was separated from their significant others by that time.
Ariana and her then-husband Dalton Gomez reportedly separated in January 2023 and filed for divorce in September 2023.
Meanwhile, Ethan was married to his then-wife, Lilly Jay, for four years, but together for 10, before they filed for divorce in July 2023.
Together, Ethan and Lilly share custody of their son, whom they welcomed in August of 2022.
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FEELING ‘HAPPY’
Ethan, who shared with the crowd that he has a therapist, spoke a lot about family and how a lot of his songwriting was inspired by his father, but did not get into any of his past or current relationships.
He did, however, say that this past year was a “really big year of growth and change,” per the eyewitness.
He also mentioned he was looking forward to celebrating his 32nd birthday on June 2, even though he kindly requested the crowd not to sing Happy Birthday to him.
The SpongeBob Squarepants actor finished the evening – nearly two hours after taking the stage – talking about his presumably current state of happiness.
He told the audience, “Think about what it means to feel understood and what happiness means and I think it’s nothing super deep, I just think that music brings us happiness, community brings us happiness, family brings us happiness – a lot of things brings us happiness.
“It’s different for everybody. And I hope that you leave tonight and go find yours.”
He then sang Happiness from You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.
Ethan’s limited-time performance is from May 28 until June 1. Tickets are available online, with prices ranging from $100 up to $190.
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