Ariana Grande pulls rare move of posting Ethan Slater on social media after reigniting split rumors a year after he left his wife

They have recently been at the center of split rumors.

But Ariana Grande squashed the speculation by sharing a video of boyfriend Ethan Slater reflecting on his character's arc in Wicked: For Good.

It was a rare move for the star, 32, who seems to keep their relationship largely off social media. 

While the video wasn't about their romance, it did shine a spotlight on Slater's process into getting into character.  

Slater, 33, plays Boq, who is transformed into the Tin Man - a role he described as having a 'hard arc'.

'It was less that it was daunting to take on this role that everybody has a relationship to and more that I just kind of couldn't believe that I got to do it,' he said. 'It's a hard arc to play because it's so familiar.

'You need to know what your relationship to that character is when you're making it your own or else you lose the heart.'

'Boq is trying to find his way,' Slater said. 'He's never forgotten those friends that have all left him, except for Nessa, who has sort of trapped him there. But unfortunately the world that he knows has fallen to the ground.

'I talked a lot about this with Jon, what it looks like for a broken heart to turn into rage, and how dangerous that can be, when you become so singularly focused that you lose the world around you.'

'Everything about him has changed and he has to learn how to deal with that. He's in a body that doesn't feel like his anymore, and there's few gifts as great to an actor as physically feeling the thing that your character is going through.'

The video was uploaded to Grande's Instagram Stories on Thursday, and came several weeks after Slater restarted the rumor mill about the state of their relationship.

Grande and Slater struck up a romance on the set of their two-part Wicked movie, the second of which hit theaters last month. 

They were plunged into scandal on account of the fact Slater was married to his now ex-wife Lilly Jay, who shares a three-year-old son with him. Grande had also just split from her husband Dalton Gomez at the time. 

In recent months, Slater and Grande were trailed by breakup speculation, inasmuch as they were not seen together from April until last month. 

Last month, they appeared to quash the conjecture by posing side by side in cast group shots at the New York City premiere of Wicked: For Good.

However, Slater kicked up another dustcloud of rumors by uncomfortably dodging a question about his relationship with Grande on the Today show last month. 

When he was asked about the experience of 'working with your girlfriend every day,' Slater sidestepped the subject and instead spoke in vague terms about how 'incredible' the 'entire cast' of his movie is.

Slater did call Grande 'brilliant' but also hailed her co-star Cynthia Erivo as 'remarkable,' rhapsodizing that seeing them both act 'from such a high level up close' was a 'pretty special' experience for him.

A source recently insisted that Slater and Grande are 'still together' despite the couple keeping their distance at the Wicked: For Good premiere in London.

They were said to have met up following the red carpet and screening.

An insider said: 'Ariana and Ethan are still a couple but they've seen the chatter online and it's not been easy.

'They were both at the Leicester Square premiere and the after-party at Brasserie Zedel but made sure they weren't seen together.'

The source continued to tell The Sun how they are both reluctant for their relationship to play out in public.

They added: 'When Ariana left the after-party, she went back to her hotel suite.

'Not long after, Ethan was taken there and went up to see Ariana to spend time with her.'

The Daily Mail contacted representatives for Ariana and Ethan at that time.

Then last month, Grande and Slater were seen posing side by side in group shots at the New York City premiere of their new film.

In October, the Daily Mail told how Grande and Slater's plans for a wedding were put on hold, and while they haven't been pictured together since April, sources claimed they've been 'on and off' for several months.