Ariana Grande Says Rumors About Her Life Will ‘Never Be Unpainful’: ‘I Just Try to Protect Myself’

It’s not easy living life in the public eye, especially when you’re as famous as Ariana Grande.

In a new cover story interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the Grammy winner opened up about enduring criticism due to the public nature of her relationships following the online chatter surrounding her relationship with boyfriend and Wicked costar Ethan Slater.

“It’ll never be unpainful,” Grande, 31, told the outlet in regards to rumors. “But also, I walk with the awareness that I’m an artist and this is a path that I’ve chosen, and so I just try to protect myself so that I never start to resent the art.”

The “Dangerous Woman” musician and Slater’s relationship was first confirmed by PEOPLE in July 2023 and began after Grande’s separation from her then-husband, Dalton Gomez, and Slater’s separation from his then-wife, Lilly Jay.

Grande and Gomez separated in January 2023 and filed for divorce eight months later. She and Slater were confirmed to be dating by PEOPLE in July of the same year, days before he filed for divorce from Jay.

In November 2024, Grande and Slater, 32, made their relationship Instagram official. They’ve since attended several public events together in promotion of Wicked.

Around when their romance was made public, both performers faced criticism and questions regarding the timeline — but in September 2023, a close family friend told PEOPLE they “didn’t begin seeing each other until after both parties were separated, respectfully.”

Another source added at the time, “They are doing their best to balance the fact that they are in the public eye with the desire to be respectful to all parties involved.”

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Elsewhere in the new THR interview, Grande told the outlet she feels the most true to herself with Wicked than she has in her career. “At a certain point, you get tired of that [pop star] character, because it is a character,” she said.

Grande continued, “There are pieces of you and your story that are woven throughout your songwriting, but then, because of the way it travels and becomes sensationalized, it gets away from you. And beneath all of it is just a girl from Boca who loves art, and I think that’s why it’s been such a deeply healing gift to disappear into this character — to take off one mask and put on another.”

Source people.com