Ariana Grande is not dating SpongeBob voice actor, his wife clarifies amid Ethan Slater romance

The wife of Tom Kenny, the voice actor of SpongeBob SquarePants, has clarified that her husband isn’t dating Ariana Grande amid the singer’s rumoured romance with Ethan Slater.

Jill Talley, who’s been married to the Nickelodeon star since 1996, took to Instagram to address the dating rumours about Slater and Grande. The romance reports came days after it was revealed that the “Thank U, Next” singer had separated from her husband of almost two years, Dalton Gomez.

Since the news broke, fans have questioned if Grande is dating the Spongebob star, as Slater starred as the iconic character in SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical from 2017 to 2019. Amid the speculation, Talley has now stepped in to make an important clarification: The individual who voices SpongeBob in the Nickelodeon program, SpongeBob SquarePants, is not the one dating Grande.

“Hi everyone, I’m married to Tom Kenny (who voices SpongeBob on the TV show),” Talley wrote in the comments of The Cut’s Instagram post, which asked “Is Ariana Grande dating SpongeBob now?” according to People. “He is not dating Ariana Grande.”

Talley added that, while she “doesn’t know” if Slater is dating Grande, she thinks “they’re totally adorable”. She also added that she “totally ships” the actors together, slang used to discuss the possibility of two people being a good match.

She concluded her comment, which appears to have been deleted, by celebrating a milestone in her relationship with Kenny, who’s been the voice of the titular character in SpongeBob Squarepants for more than two decades.

“Just wanted to set the record straight,” she wrote in her comment. “PS as for me and Tom Kenny - we are celebrating our 27th wedding anniversary today.”

Tally’s comment came one day Slater changed his Instagram profile to private amid reports that he’s romantically involved with Grande. Speaking to People on 20 July, a source claimed: “Ariana and Dalton separated in January. She and Ethan recently began dating, and he is separated from his wife.”

Slater and his spouse Lilly Jay tied the knot in 2018. The pair are also parents to a baby boy, who they welcomed 2022.

Another source also told Entertainment Tonight that Grande and Slater have “a lot in common” and that they didn’t “start dating until both were broken up with their significant others”.

The “Bange Bang” singer is set to play Glinda in the film adaptation of the popular Broadway and West End show, while Slater will play Boq, the love interest of Elphaba’s sister Nessarose.

Prior to making his Instagram account private, fans realised Grande had liked many of Slater’s recent posts, including his Mother’s Day tribute to his wife on her first Mother’s Day and their wedding anniversary post.

Earlier this week, Tmz reported that the Victorious star and Gomez have been separated since January and are “heading toward divorce”.

The report came days after Grande was spotted without her wedding ring at the Wimbledon 2023 tennis championships. Since then, the “7 Rings” singer has also removed photographs of her and Gomez’s wedding from her Instagram.

Prior to marrying Gomez in 2021, Grande was previously engaged to Saturday Night Live alum Pete Davidson. However, they called off their engagement in October 2018 after just five months together.

Meanwhile, Slater has been in a relationship with Jay since 2012. “My best friend. Four years married, 10 years together. And this is easily the best (and most *bizarre*) year yet,” he captioned an Instagram slideshow on their wedding anniversary.

In January this year, Slater revealed in an Instagram post that they had welcomed their first child together. He shared a photo of a baby onesie that read, “Wicked Cute.”

The Independent has contacted representatives for Slater and Grande for comment.