Ariana Grande’s ‘Eternal Sunshine’ Alludes to Ethan Slater Romance as Dalton Gomez Marriage Ends
Ariana Grande didn’t hold back when it came to offering hints about her love life on her new album, Eternal Sunshine, released on Friday, March 8.
The 13-song record opened with “Intro (End of the World),” which appeared to offer some insight into how her marriage to Dalton Gomez ended and her relationship with Ethan Slater started.
“How can I tell if I'm in the right relationship? / Aren't you really s'posed to know that s--t? / Feel it in your bones and own that s–t? I don't know / Then I had this interaction I've been thinkin' 'bout for like five weeks,” she sings. “Wonder if he's thinkin' 'bout it too and smiling / Wonder if he knows that that's been what's inspirin' me / Wonder if he's judgin' me like I am right now.”
News broke in July 2023 that Grande, 30, had started dating her Wicked costar Slater, 31. At the time, a source told Us that Grande and now ex-husband Gomez had been having “having some issues for months” and had quietly separated. Grande ultimately filed for divorce from Gomez in September 2023 after two years of marriage. Their divorce was finalized the following month.
Slater and estranged wife Lilly Jay are still in the midst of divorce proceedings, with sources conflicting over the timeline of when their split occurred. “Ariana and Dalton split in January, and Ethan is separated from his wife,” a source told Us in July 2023, while another insisted “Ethan sat Lilly down a few days before the news broke about him and Ariana and said that he wanted a divorce. Lilly never saw it coming.”
Grande has not spoken publicly about her relationship with Slater — or her split from Gomez, for that matter — but Eternal Sunshine is “her side of the story,” a source told Us exclusively before the album officially dropped.
“Ariana thinks these songs will provide a lot of insight for her fans,” the insider added, and it seems that’s exactly what they did.
Scroll to uncover all the apparent references to Grande and Slater’s relationship in Eternal Sunshine:
‘Intro (End of the World)’
Aside from the start of their story, Grande seemingly alluded to being honest about her feelings for Slater.
“I'd rather tell the truth,” she sings on the track. “Than make it worse for you.”
‘Eternal Sunshine’
The album’s title song referenced the “separate scenes” in her life with Gomez since their marriage ended.
“I showed you all my demons, all my lies / Yet you played me like Atari / Now it's like I'm lookin' in the mirror,” she sings in the chorus. ‘Hope you feel alright when you're in her / I found a good boy and he's on my side.”
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She appeared to sing about Slater being in Gomez’s bed and “layin' on [her] chest.”
‘Supernatural’
Grande appears possessed by Slater’s love, at least according to this song.
“Don't want nobody else around me / Just need you right here,” she sings. “You're like the only thing that I see / It's crystal-clear.”
‘The Boy Is Mine’
The boy in question, just might be Slater, at least, according to these lyrics. In this song, Grande mentions how she’s “usually so unproblematic” and references not causing a “scene” with her love life. However, she throws all that a way to be with a boy, seemingly Slater.
"Please know this ain't what I planned for / Probably wouldn't bet a dime or my life on / There's gotta be a reason why,” she sings on the second verse. “My girls, they always come through in a sticky situation / Say, ‘It's fine / Happens all the time.”
Elsewhere in the song, Grande alludes to Slater being “made for somebody like me,” and sings about not “denying” what they have.
The title of this song is also a direct reference to the Brandy and Monica song of the same name, released in 1998. "I’ve always wanted to reimagine that song in some kind of way,” Grande told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe before the album was released, referring to it as “a bad girl anthem.”
‘Yes, And?’
Grande dropped this track as the album’s first single in January. She appeared to defend her and Slater’s relationship in the lyrics.
“Don’t comment on my body, do not reply,” she sings in the bridge, seemingly addressing the public’s reaction to her love life. “Your business is yours and mine is mine / Why do you care so much whose — I ride?”
‘Imperfect for You’
Should Grande and Slater run away together? It seems the idea was on the table for the couple.
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“My boy, come take my hand / Throw your guitar and your clothes in the back seat,” the song’s first lines read. In the chorus, Grande sings about how she and a significant other “crashed” and “burned,” seemingly alluding to the drama surrounding her and Slater’s relationship.
“Now I just can't go where you don't go / And usually, I'm f--ked up, anxious, too much / But I'll love you like you need me to,” she sings. “Imperfect for you / Messy, completely distressed / But I'm not like that since I met you.”
‘Ordinary Things’
The record comes full circle with the final song that appears to put an end to her relationship with Gomez as she starts anew with Slater.
“No matter what we do / There's never gonna be an ordinary thing / No ordinary things with you,” the chorus reads. “It's funny, but it's true / There's never gonna be an ordinary thing / As long as I'm with you.”
The last lines in the song are a conversation with Grande’s Nonna, Marjorie Grande, answering the questions that the singer posed in her intro.
“As I told her, never go to bed without kissin' goodnight. /That's the worst thing to do, don't ever, ever do that,” Nonna says. “And if you can't, and if you don't feel comfortable doing it / You're in the wrong place, get out.”
