Tom Kenny, Jill Talley, Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater David Fisher/Shutterstock; Broadimage/Shutterstock; Kristina Bumphrey/Starpix/Shutterstock; MediaPunch/Shutterstock
Actress Jill Talley took to Instagram to clarify which SpongeBob SquarePants actor is currently dating Ariana Grande — and it’s not Talley’s husband, Tom Kenny.
“Hi everyone, I’m married to Tom Kenny (who voices SpongeBob on the tv show.) He is not dating Ariana Grande,” Talley, 60, commented on a recent Instagram post shared by The Cut which featured the headline, “Is Ariana Grande Dating SpongeBob Now?”
Kenny, 61, has portrayed SpongeBob SquarePants’ titular sponge on the beloved Nickelodeon animated series — as well as spin-offs The Patrick Star Show, Kamp Koral and more — since 1999. Us Weekly confirmed on Thursday, July 20, that Grande, 30, meanwhile, is dating her Wicked costar Ethan Slater, who earned a 2018 Tony nomination for his portrayal of SpongeBob in the SpongeBob SquarePants Broadway musical.
“I don’t know if Ethan Slater (who played SpongeBob in the musical) is or isn’t dating Ariana Grande,” Talley continued. “However, they’re both adorable and I totally ship it.”
Talley — who herself has voiced Karen the computer since SpongeBob’s 1999 premiere — concluded her comment with a sweet update on her and Kenny’s marriage. “PS: as for me and Tom Kenny — we are celebrating our 27th wedding anniversary today,” she wrote.
Jill Talley and Tom Kenny at the Childrens and Family Emmy Creative Awards Kathy Hutchins/Shutterstock
Last week, a source told Us that Grande and Slater’s romance was “fairly new,” adding, “Ariana and Ethan have only recently begun seeing each other but they have a lot of fun together and are enjoying each other’s company.”
Grande’s new relationship update came days after news broke that she and her estranged husband, Dalton Gomez, had separated after two years of marriage. “Ariana and Dalton have been having some issues for months now,” a second insider told Us on July 17. “They were having issues before she left for Wicked filming [in London] that they couldn’t resolve, and the distance did not help. They haven’t been speaking and are separated, and a divorce is likely.”
Slater, 31, for his part, recently separated from his wife, Lilly Jay. They married in 2018 and welcomed a son together in 2022.
Earlier this year, he praised his now-ex in a sweet Mother’s Day Instagram post, writing, “Happy first Mother’s Day to the most loving caring and wonderful mom/person in the world — from me and this little guy.”
Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater Gregory Pace/Shutterstock; Kristina Bumphrey/Starpix/Shutterstock
Slater plays Boq in the upcoming Wicked films alongside Grande as Glinda the Good Witch, Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Jonathan Bailey as Prince Fiyero. In the stage show, Boq has an unrequited love for Glinda, who ultimately sets him up with Elphaba’s sister, Nessarose (Marissa Bode), while she pursues Fiyero.
Amid Grande’s breakup from Gomez, a third source told Us that the Grammy winner was “determined to move forward” and that her loved ones are “happy” about her personal life progress.
Gomez, meanwhile, was “devatated” by the split. “A separation is not what he’s wanted,” another source exclusively told Us. “He wanted the fairy tale, happy ending, and it’s not looking that way.”
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