Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater bizarrely shake hands in rare public outing at SAG Awards

Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater were caught in a weird handshake moment at the SAG Awards on Sunday night during a rare public outing together.

The couple, who struck up a relationship after meeting while working on the Oscar-nominated Wicked movie, were snapped in a position where it seemed they were shaking hands with each other inside the ceremony.

Both Ethan, 32, and Ariana, 31, were smiling broadly during the exchange as Ariana held up other hand in exclamation.

They had also opted to walk the red carpet separately, despite being seated at the same table for the movie, which had picked up five nominations from the Screen Actors Guild including one for outstanding cast and one for Grande as supporting actress.

However, they quickly moved on from this awkward moment, with the duo being photographed later on in the evening, including while they were sitting next to each other, bringing their heads together for the pose.

Slater reportedly arrived over an hour ahead of Grande to the event, in a classic tuxedo, while the Thank U Next singer had her moment in a stunning custom pale pink Loewe gown with floral embellishments.

He was also said to be carefully looking out for his girlfriend on the floor of the show, as a clip shared by Instagram account Deuxmoi showed the couple holding hands as he carefully guided her around the table and crowd of people.

Nicola Hickling of LipReader told DailyMail.com that the Broadway star was telling the chart-topping singer: ‘Stay near, this crowd next to me, they are pushing me.’

Both performers have kept their relationship relatively low-key – despite the high-profile awards season circuit – likely in reaction to the backlash it initially received.

Grande was previously married to Dalton Gomez, with news of their divorce going live just days before her relationship with co-star Slater was first heavily rumoured, in July 2023.

Meanwhile, Slater’s ex-wife Lilly Jay relocated to the UK for Wicked filming with their young son, but he also filed for divorce from her later the same month as Grande.

Sources previously claimed to TMZ that both Slater and Grande – whose listed date of separation from Gomez was in that February – were single before they began dating.

Jay has since spoken out herself, penning an essay for The Cut in December where she said she ‘really never thought I would get divorced’.

‘Especially not just after giving birth to my first child and especially not in the shadow of my husband’s new relationship with a celebrity.’

The psychologist, who specialises in women’s mental health, said she ‘deeply misses the life of invisibility she created for herself’ before her life was thrust into the public eye.

Slater has publicly shared his pride over the acclaim his girlfriend is receiving for her turn as Glinda in the blockbuster musical adaptation, posting a photo of her with pink balloons in the wake of her Oscar nomination.

Sadly, the Wicked team went home empty handed from the SAG Awards, with Emilia Pérez star Zoe Saldaña once more triumphing in the best supporting actress category over Grande, putting her as firm favourite to take home the Oscar at the end of this week – despite the controversy surrounding the Netflix film.

Conclave’s cast took home the ensemble award, while Elphaba actress Cynthia Erivo lost out to Demi Moore for her comeback turn in The Substance, and Jonathan Bailey’s nominated turn as Fiyero fell at the last hurdle to another awards season favourite in Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain).

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