In July last year, it was revealed Ariana Grande and her husband of two years, Dalton Gomez, had split with claims the starlet had moved on with an actor from the SpongeBob Squarepants Broadway musical.
We now know Ariana, 31, is dating Ethan Slater, her Wicked casemate and SpongeBob star. However, for a short time, fans were confused as they believed she was dating 61-year-old actor Tom Kenny.
It came after a quick Google search of ‘SpongeBob Squarepants actor’ places Tom front and centre as the star has been the voice of the beloved Nickelodeon character since 1999.
At the time, the new couple appeared to be trying to keep their relationship out of the spotlight with both Ariana and Ethan, 32 having recently ended marriages and Ethan had welcomed a child just one year prior.
Seemingly onboard with the pair’s desire to keep things quiet, Tom jokingly accepted fans’ assumptions and has now opened up about the situation, telling E! News that he found the whole thing amusing.
‘That was hilarious. It said “SpongeBob actor dating Ariana Grande.’” And people were like, “Wow, Tom Kenny, he’s a player”,’ he laughed.
Tom, who has also had voice roles in Rick and Morty and Adventure Time, said he leaned into the rumours despite being married to Jill Talley and joked that he and Ariana were ‘trying to keep a lid’ on their alleged romance.
‘I was like, “How did they find out?” Ariana and I have been trying to keep a lid on this explosive secret. Ariana and I didn’t want Ethan to find out. Then he did and it was just a whole big ugly mess. But now we’re a throuple. So, it’s awesome,’ he told the outlet.
Jill, 61, also an actress and a bit of a comedian, ultimately split the beans soon after rumours began circulating by commenting on an Instagram post by The Cut.
‘Hi everyone, I’m married to Tom Kenny (who voices SpongeBob on the TV show),’ she wrote. ‘He is not dating Ariana Grande. I don’t know if Ethan Slater (who played SpongeBob in the musical) is or isn’t dating Ariana Grande. However, they’re both adorable and I totally ship it.’
While setting the record straight, she also shared an adorable piece of information: she told fans that she and Tom were celebrating their 27th wedding anniversary.
Despite the rumours, Tom told E! News that he and Ethan are actually friends as he helped mentor the Broadway star when he was preparing for the stage shows.
It comes after Ariana sat down with Vanity Fair, where she candidly spoke about her relationship with Ethan and addressed rumours that she and the star were involved in an affair.
‘It definitely doesn’t get any easier, seeing some of the negativity that was birthed by disreputable tabloids,’ she said. ‘The most disappointing part was to see so many people believe the worst version of it.’
The Wicked actress continued to say she ‘will never go into certain details’ about what happened but was very clear in her defence of Ethan, stating: ‘There couldn’t be a less accurate depiction of a human being than the one that the tabloids spread about him.’
She said that when it comes to her partner, ‘there is no one on this earth with a better heart’.
Ariana is currently promoting her upcoming film Wicked, in which she plays Glinda the Good, alongside Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba.
Wicked starts screening in UK theatres from November 22.
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