Official reviews for the movie musical Bad doesn’t come out until next week, but Ariana Grande is already receiving high praise from one fan: her friend and co-star, Ethan Slater.

Broadway actor Slater plays Boq – a fellow Shiz University student who is hopelessly in love with Grande’s character Glinda – in the upcoming musical adaptation. Off-screen, the pair met and fell in love while filming the two-parter, and were spotted together in public for the first time in late 2023. At the time, Slater had just divorced his wife, Lilly Jay, with whom he has one. child, while Grande recently broke up with her husband, Dalton Gomez.

In an interview with People for their special Bad edition of the magazine, the star of Spongebob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical gushed over his girlfriend, saying, “One of the things that’s been really fun to watch is that she has a masterful grasp of comedy, and she’s so funny and so physical, and it never feels like a joke on top the character. It always feels like it comes straight from Glinda.”

He added: ‘You get lost in the performance – she’s just Glinda. Even in those incredibly funny physical moments.”

Grande, who is best known for her work in pop with songs like “We Can’t Be Friends” and “Thank U, Next,” first got her start in theater and TV comedy. She appeared in the Broadway musical 13 as a teenager before starring in Nickelodeon sitcoms Victorious And Sam & Kat.

This isn’t the first time Slater has opened up about Grande’s talents. In an interview with Extra at the Los Angeles premiere of Bad earlier this month, Slater praised Grande and their co-star Cynthia Erivo, who plays the so-called Wicked Witch, Elphaba.

“They’re also just really connected actors, and they’re really generous scene partners, and getting to work with them was like a masterclass,” Slater said at the time. “I felt like I learned something with every take. Both.”

The feeling is mutual. Grande recently told Entertainment Tonight how happy she is that Slater is having his moment in the spotlight. “He’s always adorable, and he’s so great in this movie, he’s such a great person. I’m so happy that people are getting to know him,” she said Spama lot executor. “My heart is very happy.”