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Ariana Grande <\/strong><\/a>and Ethan Slater<\/strong><\/a> are looking forward to the future following the success of Wicked<\/em>. The singer is mapping out her dream wedding and planning on starting a family with her beau, a source exclusively tells Life & Style<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cAriana is madly in love and very eager to marry Ethan. It\u2019s just a matter of timing it right,\u201d the source says. \u201cHis divorce was finalized [in September], so he\u2019s free to marry her and they\u2019ve both been talking quite openly about how they plan to spend forever<\/a> together.\u201d<\/p>\n The insider teased that a Christmas proposal could be in the works because Ariana, 31, \u201chas been dropping loud hints\u201d that she wants a ring as her gift. Plus, the \u201cThank U, Next\u201d singer already has babies on the brain, according to the source.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s talking about their future kids a lot,\u201d the insider adds. \u201cSo that\u2019s something that will likely happen before long as well. [Ethan] does have a child already so she\u2019s had the chance to try out the stepmom role and she says she loves it.\u201d<\/p>\n A \u201cbig princess wedding\u201d will come first, though, the source says. \u201cShe\u2019s traditional, so unless something throws a wrench in things, everyone is expecting her to marry him next year so they can get to work on having kids,\u201d the insider concludes.<\/p>\n Ari was previously married to Dalton Gomez<\/strong>, but since their nuptials took place amid the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2021, they opted for an intimate affair at her Montecito, California, home. After separating in early 2023 \u2013 although the news was not made public until months later \u2013 the exes filed for divorce that September and finalized the split in March. Ethan, 32, tied the knot with Lilly Jay<\/strong> in 2018 and welcomed a daughter with her in 2022, but they separated the following year.<\/p>\n Ethan and Ariana were both in their previous relationships when they met on the set of Wicked at the end of 2022, leading to speculation about the timeline<\/a> of their romance. Ethan faced backlash for dating Ariana immediately after ending things with his wife while they had a young child at home.<\/p>\n The former Nickelodeon star addressed the negativity while promoting Wicked<\/em> in September. \u201cIt definitely doesn\u2019t get any easier, seeing some of the negativity<\/a> that was birthed by disreputable tabloids,\u201d she admitted in an interview with Vanity Fair<\/em><\/a>. \u201cOf course, I went through a lot of life changes during the filming of this movie. A lot of people that were working on it did. We were away for two years. So, of course, I understand why it was a field day for the tabloids to sort of create something that paid their bills.\u201d<\/p>\n She also defended Ethan from the critics and insisted that things didn\u2019t happen the way the public perceived.\u201dThe most disappointing part was to see so many people believe the worst version of it,\u201d Ariana explained. \u201cThat was definitely a tough ride.\u201d<\/p>\n The following month, Ethan also weighed in on the situation and praised his girlfriend in the process. \u201cI think there was something that was really difficult about things in your private life being commented on and looked at by the public,\u201d the former Broadway star told GQ<\/em><\/a>. \u201cThere were a lot of big changs in private lives that were really happening, so it\u2019s really hard to see people who don\u2019t know anything about what\u2019s happening commenting on it and speculating, and then getting things wrong about the people you love. So just to address that part of it \u2026 that feels really hard.\u201d<\/p>\n He continued, \u201cBut, of course, it was an amazing year and a really beautiful thing and I\u2019m just really excited. I\u2019m just really, really proud of Ari and the work she\u2019s done on this. She\u2019s poured herself into it. I\u2019m really proud that I got to be there for that part of it and I\u2019m really excited to be there for this next step of it when the world gets to see the amazing thing that she did.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n