Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo have been dogged by infidelity rumours from fans after their respective relationships ended during filming for Wicked.
The singer, 31, began dating co-star Ethan Slater after they met on the British set of the film adaptation of the celebrated musical in 2022, when both were married.
Meanwhile Cynthia and American actress Lena Waithe’s relationship has raised cheating speculation after they began dating shortly after Lena’s divorce.
When their romance was first revealed in July 2023, questions over the timeline of their relationship quickly overshadowed the project.
Production were ‘worried’ about the impact their controversial pairing would have on the movie’s success and insiders claimed the couple were instructed to ‘disappear for six months’ in the hopes of swerving backlash.
And fans have speculated on the potential overlap between the pair’s relationship and their respective marriages at the time.
Ariana and Ethan’s romance was revealed just a few days after the singer announced her split from husband Dalton Gomez after two years of marriage.
Although they were later said to have split in January of that year, eagle-eyed fans suspected the dates didn’t add up.
On May 15 2023, Ariana took to Instagram to celebrate her two year wedding anniversary with Dalton with a sweet post.
Sharing a snap of the pair kissing during their nuptials in Montecito, California she wrote: ‘2,’ adding a heart and the phrase: ‘3.5 years together.’
Meanwhile on June 1, Ethan’s then wife Lilly Jay wished her husband a happy 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡day, just over a month before Ariana and Ethan announced their relationship.
Noticing the dates, one fan took to Twitter as they penned: ‘But we are supposed to believe there is no cheating.’
Another penned: ‘Here’s Ariana’s story. This woman seriously thought she fooled everyone by saying, “We separated in February 2023″ meanwhile she was saying to him “I love you” in May 15’.
‘Yeah, the timeline is pretty sketchy’; ‘The timeline says it all—hard to believe there was no cheating when the story lines up like that’; ‘This timeline is messier than their excuses.’
Despite only being revealed to the world in the summer, it was later alleged that Ariana and Ethan were involved romantically for months before, having grown close while on the set of their upcoming movie.
An insider said that the pair were so open with their romance during filming that the majority of the Wicked cast were aware that they were in a relationship.
‘They were sloppy on set,’ the insider shared. ‘They were seen being all over each other.
‘They were seen making out at a pub in Hampstead, and they were all over each other at Michelle Yeoh’s Oscar party [in March].’
Ariana and Ethan even went on ‘multiple double dates’ with their respective spouses, but it has also been reported the actor did not start dating Ariana until he separated from Lilly.
MailOnline have contacted both Ariana and Ethan’s representatives for comment.
Ariana previously expressed her frustration at negative rumours surrounding her relationship with Ethan.
She said on The Zach Sang Show in February: ‘I feel like we don’t need to go into any specifics, but, of course, there’s like an insatiable frustration, inexplicable, hellish feeling with watching people, misunderstand the people you love and you and anything.’
Meanwhile Cynthia is also rumoured to be caught up in a cheating scandal after she began dating Lena Waithe.
The American actress, 40, was previously married to film executive and producer Alana Mayo.
The pair secretly tied the knot in 2019, however cheating rumours weren’t far behind and the pair split in 2020 and divorced the year after.
While the pair never cited the reason for the breakup, speculation began to swirl online that Lena had cheated on Alana with Cynthia.
Cynthia and Lena were first met in 2018 at the Met Gala and were seen numerous times together after her split.
In 2021 the pair were pictured sitting together at Rhude fashion show and a year later they were seen holding hands at the Alvin Ailey Spirit Gala.
Meanwhile Ethan Slater’s ex-wife Lilly Jay has confessed the Wicked phenomenon has left her ‘unable to escape’ the ‘saddest days of my life’ as she broke her silence on the controversial relationship this week.
When Ethan joined the production, which began filming in December 2022, he was married Lilly, who was his high school sweetheart, and the pair were enjoying their first months as parents to their new𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 son.
Opening up about her grief at having to witness her ex-husband promote Wicked around the world with the woman he left her for, she called it a very painful reminder of the ‘public downfall of my marriage’.
In an essay for The Cut, published on Wednesday, the clinical psychologist, who shares a two-year-old son with Slater, reflected on navigating life as a single mother and the end of their six-year marriage.
She admitted there are ‘days when I can’t escape the promotion of a movie associated with the saddest days of my life are darker’. Lily also said that as she rocks their son to sleep for ‘countless hours’ she is also trying to ‘accept the sudden public downfall of my marriage.’
‘No-one gets married thinking they’ll get divorced, in the same way we don’t board a plane expecting to crash’, she said.
And in another slight on her ex and his new lover: ‘I really never thought I would get divorced. Especially not just after giving 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 to my first 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 and especially not in the shadow of my husband’s new relationship with a celebrity.’