Ariana Grande is addressing speculation she and her “Wicked” co-star Cynthia Erivo are romantically involved following a months-long literally hands-on press tour.
The 31-year-old “Into You” singer talked to The Hollywood Reporter about the public perception of their dynamic.
“People think we’re secretly married,” Grande, who starred as Glinda, said of herself and her fellow Oscar nominee. The former is nominated for Best Supporting Actress while Erivo, who starred as Elphaba, is tapped for Best Actress.
“I wish I could unsee some things,” she said of “the Gelphie stuff,” meaning the Glinda-Elphaba fan fiction and art.
“I mean, wow, I had a feeling, but I didn’t know it would be on this scale or this graphic,” said Grande.
Much of the press tour featured Grande and the 38-year-old Tony winner holding hands, fingers or “space” during emotional interviews in which they gushed about each other.
Well before “Wicked” wrapped production and charmed the box office and critics alike, Grande made headlines for another bond formed on-set.
While working on the film, Grande and boyfriend Ethan Slater, who plays Boq, became romantically involved — with rumors circulating in July 2023.
That month, Grande split from husband Dalton Gomez, who she’d wed two years prior, and Slater filed for divorce from high school sweetheart, Lilly Jay.
Despite the presumed overlap, at least from the public’s vantage point, insiders maintained that the actors had already split from their spouses before their relationship became romantic. Grande and 29-year-old Gomez finalized their divorce last March. Tony nominee Slater, 32, and Jay — who share a toddler son — finalized their divorce in September.
In December, Jay, a licensed clinical psychologist, penned an essay in The Cut, reflecting on the very public nature of her relationship’s breakdown.