Updated: 30 Nov 2025Author:
David Frederickson

Ariana, Ethan and Cynthia: breakup rumours, ‘semi-binary’ nonsense and Wicked-sized chaos

  1. Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater’s Wicked romance is now a full-time rumour machine, with fans convinced they’ve either secretly split or are stronger than ever.
  2. Cynthia Erivo has somehow been dragged into the chaos via unhinged “semi-binary relationship” memes that confuse sisterhood with shipping.
  3. Red carpets from London to Singapore show Ariana and Cynthia glued together in couture while Ethan hangs back, fuelling “where’s the boyfriend?” discourse.
  4. Gossip sites say a breakup announcement is being timed to perfection, while more reliable outlets insist Ariana and Ethan are still very much together.
  5. In the middle of it all is one simple truth: three performers trying to sell a blockbuster musical while the internet treats their personal lives like bonus content.

How Ariana and Ethan went from secret co-stars to public obsession

From Wicked setmates to the most dissected couple online

Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater started out as two musical-theatre nerds cast in Wicked, quietly bonding on set while the world still thought of him as “that SpongeBob guy.” Their romance became public only after both had separated from their spouses, instantly turning them into the internet’s favourite case study in divorce timelines and rebound energy.

Since then, they have kept things deliberately low-key, skipping joint interviews and limiting public PDA to carefully chosen moments at premieres and sports events. It is a strategy that might have preserved some privacy in a pre-TikTok era, but in 2025 it mostly convinces people there is even more going on behind the scenes.

Breakup rumours, delayed statements and the “still together” camp

Recently, gossip blogs have claimed the pair are planning to announce a split only after the Wicked: For Good rollout settles, suggesting PR calendars now come with a heartbreak slot between “press tour” and “awards campaign.” Those reports lean heavily on anonymous sources and the fact that Ariana and Ethan often walk carpets separately or stand apart in group photos.

At the same time, outlets citing insiders close to the couple insist they are still together, pointing to affectionate backstage moments at the London premiere and sightings of them holding hands away from the main cameras. Officially, neither has announced anything except their continued commitment to the film and a shared desire not to have every interview turn into relationship court.

Cynthia Erivo, sisterhood and the fake “semi-binary relationship” saga

When a friendship becomes a conspiracy theory

Enter Cynthia Erivo, Ariana’s Wicked co-lead, who has become the unwilling third point in this rumour triangle simply by being a visibly affectionate friend. The two have spent years filming, rehearsing and promoting together, hugging on red carpets, holding hands at premieres and speaking about each other like chosen family.

That warmth has been twisted into a bizarre online narrative claiming they are in some kind of “non-demi curious, semi-binary relationship,” a phrase that sounds like it was generated by a malfunctioning astrology app. Fact-checks and news pieces have already pointed out that the phrase originated on satire pages and joke posts, not in any real statement from the women themselves.

Fact check: it’s sisterhood, not a secret romance

More serious outlets and LGBTQ+ media have stepped in to clarify that Ariana and Cynthia are not a couple, just two close friends whose bond is being misread by people desperate to project a storyline onto every touch. Both women are publicly linked to other partners, and nothing they have said suggests anything beyond deep platonic affection and professional respect.

The mess has also sparked a wider conversation about how quickly people sexualise intimacy between women while barely blinking at men hugging on the sidelines of a football pitch. For Cynthia in particular, the scrutiny is layered with racism and misogynoir, as critics nitpick her appearance and body language even when she is literally just shielding Ariana from overexcited fans.

Red carpets, strategic distance and Wicked’s UK takeover

London premieres, yellow-brick carpets and fashion diplomacy

On the UK side, the Wicked: For Good London premiere turned Leicester Square into a yellow brick road, with Ariana in sleek, dark glamour and Cynthia in a dramatic sculpted gown that screamed “Elphaba, but make it couture.” Together, they posed as the night’s central double act, while co-stars, including Ethan, rotated in and out of the background like well-dressed satellites.

The styling choices are smart: Ariana and Cynthia play the film’s emotional core, so every red-carpet photo reinforces their pairing rather than Ariana’s off-screen relationship. It also conveniently means fewer shots of her and Ethan together, which publicists can pretend is about “keeping the focus on the work” while knowing full well it also pours petrol on the breakup-theory bonfire.

Ethan dodges relationship questions and the internet explodes

Fuel was added this week when Ethan politely sidestepped a direct question about Ariana during a live TV appearance tied to the press tour, steering the conversation back to the film instead. Interviewers love a good relationship slip-up, so the dodge instantly became a headline in its own right, with some outlets framing it as proof something is wrong.

In reality, it looked more like a man who has read every nasty comment about himself and would like to keep his job without prolonging the circus. Unfortunately, “actor sets healthy boundary between personal life and press junket” is less clickable than “refuses to talk about Ariana as breakup rumours swirl,” so the latter wins the SEO battle every time.

Why this love triangle-that-isn’t is everywhere in 2025

Shipping culture, parasocial love and TikTok detectives

This story sits at the intersection of several internet obsessions: shipping real people, decoding micro-gestures on red carpets and treating celebrities like ongoing interactive fanfic. Fans analyse hand placement, eye contact and who stands next to whom in a group shot as if they are reading tarot cards instead of looking at stressed actors being yelled at by photographers.

On TikTok, edits frame Ariana and Ethan as either doomed or endgame depending on the soundtrack, while Ariana and Cynthia clips are cut into sapphic love stories built from reaction shots and out-of-context hugs. None of this is new, but the scale feels different when the subjects are promoting a film that is already emotionally intense and drenched in themes of found family, loyalty and heartbreak.

Queerbaiting accusations and the cost of visible affection

Layered on top is a serious conversation about whether affectionate, visibly queer-adjacent friendships between women in the spotlight get unfairly branded as queerbaiting. Ariana and Cynthia’s closeness is deeply meaningful to many LGBTQ+ fans, especially given Cynthia’s own identity and the film’s strong queer resonance.

At the same time, some commentators worry that thirsty headlines about “semi-binary” vibes trivialise real non-binary identities and reduce queer relationships to a meme format. The result is a mess where earnest representation discourse, genuine fandom joy and low-effort click-chasing posts all smash into each other like flying monkeys in a content storm.

What actually looks true amid all the noise

Ariana and Ethan: still a couple until they say otherwise

Strip away the gossip, and the most consistent thread from reputable reporting is that Ariana and Ethan are still together, albeit cautiously. Sources close to them describe a couple trying to protect their relationship from becoming the only storyline, which explains the careful red-carpet choreography and the refusal to spill details mid-press tour.

Breakup rumours may keep bubbling, especially while they dodge personal questions and avoid overdoing joint photo ops, but so far there has been no on-the-record confirmation of a split. Until that happens, treating every awkward interview as “definitive evidence” says more about our addiction to drama than it does about the actual state of their relationship.

Ariana and Cynthia: co-leads, co-conspirators and nothing to debunk

As for Ariana and Cynthia, the facts are boring in the best possible way. They are co-leads who went through a huge, years-long project together, forged an intense friendship, and now cling to each other on carpets because nobody else fully understands how exhausting it has been.

Their bond clearly means a lot to both women, and fans are right to see something beautiful in that solidarity. Turning it into a fake relationship label invented by trolls on social media does not make it more interesting; it just proves some people cannot watch two women hold hands without demanding a press release.

Why this matters to a UK audience that loves a good musical mess

Brits, theatre kids and the politics of picking a side

For UK viewers, Wicked is the perfect crossover of West End energy and Hollywood spectacle, so of course the offstage drama is gripping. The whole saga hits the same pleasure centre as arguing about which Strictly couple has “real chemistry” or whether Love Island editing is stitching someone up.

At the same time, it spotlights how quickly we assign heroes and villains based on partial information, vibes and who we already liked before the story began. Whether people side with Ariana, Ethan, Cynthia or some shifting combination of all three often says more about their own experiences with messy relationships and friendship politics than anything printed in a tabloid.

Wicked-sized fame, human-sized boundaries

In the end, the Wicked press tour is a cautionary tale about trying to live a semi-normal life while starring in a franchise built to dominate every feed. Ariana, Ethan and Cynthia are clearly grateful for the success, but they are also navigating breakups, blended families and online weirdness that would send most of us straight into a cave with no Wi-Fi.

For now, the healthiest approach as fans might be to enjoy the music, admire the fashion and treat the rumours as noise rather than gospel. If a breakup, engagement or hard-launched new relationship actually happens, trust us, it will not slip quietly past your timeline.

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