It’s not hard to make the connection between Ariana Grande’s new song, “Hampstead,” and her relationship with boyfriend Ethan Slater.
Grande, 31, and Slater, 32, met while filming Wicked in London in 2022. The singer was living in the city’s Hampstead neighborhood at the time. She’s spoken publicly about that period, even calling out the “places and pubs” referenced in the song.
“I was in Hampstead when I was here, and I loved my walks on the Heath,” she told Radio 1 in a March 2025 interview. “I loved meandering around and visiting different shops and places and pubs.”
The song, a bonus track on Grande’s Eternal Sunshine Deluxe: Brighter Days Ahead, begins with Grande referencing one of said pubs as she appears to sing about the misconceptions about her relationship with Slater. Both were married to other people when they met on set, with Grande later separating from husband Dalton Gomez after two years of marriage. Slater and his now ex-wife, Lilly Jay, who share a 2-year-old son, divorced in July 2023.
The next month, sources told Us Weekly that there was no overlap between the relationships.
“I left my heart at a pub in Hampstead / And I misplaced my mind in a good way,” the song begins. “Threw away my reputation but saved us more heartache / Yes, I know it seems f—ed up, and you’re right / But quite frankly you’re still wrong about everything / So far off, your seat’s nowhere near the table / But I find something sweet in your peculiar behavior /’Cause I think to be so dumb must be nice.”
Grande has previously slammed the negativity she attributed to “disreputable tabloids” that has made it difficult for her to navigate her personal life.
“I went through a lot of life changes during the filming of this movie,” she told Vanity Fair in September 2024. “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.”
“That was definitely a tough ride,” she added.
She went on to defend Slater after seeing “so many people believe the worst version” of their relationship timeline.
“No one on this earth tries harder or spreads themselves thinner to be there for the people that he loves and cares about,” she said. “There is no one on this earth with a better heart, and that is something that no bulls— tabloid can rewrite in real life.”
Eternal Sunshine Deluxe: Brighter Days Ahead released on Friday, March 28.
