Ethan SlaterEx-wife Lilly Jay has addressed their split in an essay, revealing that she never thought they would divorce.

Slater and Jay's marriage fell apart earlier this year, and the Broadway actor has continued to date his "Wicked" co-star Ariana Grandewho also split from her ex-husband Dalton Gomez.

Grande and Slater's relationship was considered controversial due to the timing and the public backlash they received afterward.

Lilly Jay, a clinical psychologist in perinatal mental health and child development, wrote an essay for The Cut published on December 18. In the text, she recounted the difficulties she faced after the breakup of her and Slater's marriage and her life as a mother to their two-year-old son.

Jay began by stating that no one gets married expecting to get divorced or gets on a plane expecting to crash. She continued: "But I really never thought I'd get divorced. Especially not right after I had my first child, and especially not in the shadow of my husband's new relationship with a celebrity."

The mother-of-one said she has been in a season of shock and grief for more than a year after the fallout from her marriage became public. She wrote: "I deeply miss the life of invisibility I created for myself as a psychologist specializing in women's mental health."

Slater's ex-wife has shared more details about how taking care of her son has helped her cope with her struggles.

She explained, "Motherhood, I've learned, fills your time, but not your mind. In the countless hours I spend rocking my son to sleep, pushing his stroller, admiring his sweaty little hands grasping a crayon, I'm diligently working on my personal project of acceptance the sudden public collapse of my marriage."

Jay continued, "This, I tell myself, is nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to hide. Slowly but surely, I've come to believe that in the absence of the life I planned with my high school sweetheart, life will be sweet. waiting for me and my child ."

Jay also wrote about how she and Slater raised their son together, noting that their parenting has remained the same even though their partnership has changed. She wrote: "We both love our son fiercely 100 percent of the time, regardless of how our parenting time is divided."

However, Jay admitted that she is still struggling with the fallout from her and Slater's public divorce. She noted, "The days with my son are sunny. The days when I can't escape promoting a movie connected to the darkest days of my life are darker."

The therapist also revealed that her public divorce affected her career, writing, "I can't say for sure how much my career has been affected by what's online. But there have been hints along the way, like a job offer that disappeared without explanation after another tabloid news cycle or a patient scheduled for an initial appointment but seemingly disappearing."

Slater filed for divorce from Jay in July 2023, a month before their son's one-year birthday. News of the divorce filing follows reports that Ariana Grande has ended her relationship with ex-husband Dalton Gomez.

Not long after filing for divorce, Slater and Grande began dating, and reports of their romance sparked backlash on social media.

There was speculation that Slater cheated on Jay with Grande, though he and the singer have since debunked the story.

Slater broke his silence about his controversial relationship with Grande during an interview with GQ in October. He admitted that it was difficult for things about his private life to become a topic of public discussion.

The actor also said: "It's really hard to see people who don't know anything about what's going on comment and speculate and then get things wrong about people you love."

However, Slater brushed off Grande, saying it was "a beautiful thing" to fall in love with her on set, before adding that he was proud of her and her work on Wicked.

In the conversation with them, Grande also spoke about the speculations about her and Slater's relationship Vanity Fair September, expressing his disappointment that many believed the worst version of events.