Ariana Grande is not dating 'SpongeBob' voice actor, says his wife

Los Angeles, July 24 (IANS) 'SpongeBob SquarePants' voice actor Tom Kenny's wife is clearing the air after the internet confused her husband with popstar Ariana Grande's new boyfriend, Ethan Slater.

The confusion came after an Instagram post on The Cut which posted a headline to their page that read: "Is Ariana Grande Dating SpongeBob Now?" leading some social media users to believe that Grande had moved on from her marriage to Dalton Gomez with the longtime voice actor, reports etonline.

The SquarePants in question is actually Slater, Grande's 'Wicked' co-star, who has a SpongeBob link of his own. While he didn't play a part in the popular TV series, Slater did stay as SpongeBob in 'SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical' in 2016.

Kenny's wife, Jill Talley, took to the comments of The Cut's post and set the record straight.

"Hi everyone, I'm married to Tom Kenny (who voices SpongeBob on the TV show)," Talley wrote, as per People.

She continued, "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. Just wanted to set the record straight."

The mix-up comes at an interesting time for Talley, who happened to be celebrating her 27th wedding anniversary with Kenny this weekend.

"PS: as for me and Tom Kenny," the voice actress added, "we are celebrating our 27th wedding anniversary today."

The clarification comes just days after a source confirmed to ET that Grande and Slater are dating, and less than a week after a source ET learned that Ariana and Dalton Gomez had separated after two years of marriage, noting that the pair -- who tied the knot in May 2021, five months after announcing their engagement -- "ultimately were just not a good fit."

"Ariana and Ethan recently started dating. They have a lot in common and have a lot of fun," the source said.

"They didn't start dating until both were broken up with their significant others. Ariana and Dalton remain friends."

The 'Broadway' star married his former high school classmate, Lilly Jay, in 2018. The couple welcomed their first child, a son, last year. In November 2022, Slater shared an anniversary tribute to his wife on Instagram, writing, "My best friend. 4 years married, 10 years together. And this is easily the best (and most *bizarre*) year yet." Grande liked the post.

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