Ariana Grande Changed a Key “Thank U, Next” Lyric Days Before Her Breakup with Ethan Slater Went Public
Ariana Grande took the stage on June 6 for the opening night of her Eternal Sunshine Tour in Oakland, California, and she came ready to say something. Not in a press release, not in a lengthy Instagram caption, but the way Ariana has always done it best: through a song.
During her performance of “Thank U, Next,” she tweaked the bridge. The lyric that usually goes, “One day I’ll walk down the aisle holding hands with my mama / I’ll be thanking my dad ’cause she grew from the drama” got quietly, pointedly rewritten. She sang “We all grew from the drama” instead, nodding to her parents’ 2002 divorce and the fact that everyone involved eventually found their footing.
Then came the part about only wanting to do marriage “once real bad.” Grande skipped the line entirely, held up two fingers at the crowd, and laughed. The audience caught it. The internet definitely caught it.
Two days later, on June 8, E! News confirmed that Grande and her Wicked costar Ethan Slater had broken up after nearly three years together. The timing of that lyric change? Nobody’s calling it a coincidence.
How It Started
If you need a refresher: Grande and Slater met in 2022 on the London set of Wicked, the Jon M. Chu musical adaptation, where she played Glinda, and he played Boq. By the summer of 2023, both were navigating the ends of their respective marriages at the same time, which is exactly when the internet lost its mind.
Grande had separated from real estate agent Dalton Gomez in February 2023, though the divorce filings didn’t go public until September of that year. Slater filed for divorce from his wife of four years, Lilly Jay, on July 26, 2023. They share a son, Ezra, who is now 3.
The two were confirmed to be dating on July 20, 2023, and immediately, the narrative ran away from them. Grande was branded the villain, Slater got dragged, and the tabloids had a full season’s worth of content before either of them had said a single word publicly.
Grande eventually responded, telling Vanity Fair in 2024 that the whole ordeal had been a “tough ride.” She said the most disappointing part was watching people believe the worst version of what happened. She also defended Slater with the kind of specificity that makes it clear she meant every word, calling him someone with a better heart than any tabloid could accurately describe.
Almost Three Years of Low-Key Love
Once the noise died down, Grande and Slater actually seemed to be doing just fine. They went to Disney World. They caught hockey games. They showed up for each other’s Broadway nights and album releases. When her Eternal Sunshine album dropped in 2024, Slater called her “incredible” and made it clear he was in full awe of her talent.
Awards season 2025 brought them back into public view together, with Slater joining Grande for date nights at the SAG Awards and the Oscars. She had been nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance as Glinda, and the two of them looked every bit like a couple riding out the chaos together.
The cracks started showing quietly. Slater skipped the 2026 Golden Globes even as Grande picked up another nomination. His last confirmed public appearance alongside her was the SNL afterparty in December, when she hosted for the third time and he showed up to cheer her on. After that, nothing. Six months of nothing.
Where Things Stand Now
Sources close to the former couple say the split was amicable and that the two still remain friends and are supportive of one another. The breakup was given careful consideration before they ultimately decided to end the romantic relationship. Neither Grande nor Slater has made a public statement.
Grande is currently focused on her ongoing Eternal Sunshine Tour, which launched June 6, as well as her upcoming album “Petal,” set for release on July 31. Sources say she is doing great, and honestly, watching her laugh at that two-finger moment onstage in Oakland, it is easy to believe it.
Sources also confirmed that her new album was not inspired by the breakup, and the music is not about her relationship with Slater.
What is worth noting is how quietly this whole thing ended. No dramatic public fallout. No subtweets. No source is going on record to throw anyone under the bus. And for a relationship that started with so much chaos and noise, the ending was almost shockingly civil.
Grande sang her truth on a Friday night in Oakland, held up two fingers, and let the crowd figure it out. By Sunday, the story had broken. She was already on to the next one, and by the sounds of it, she has no plans to slow down. For a woman who once wrote an entire album about moving forward gracefully, that tracks perfectly.
