Quote · Giggly Squad
Giggling about virginity, confessionals, and cheating
Where this was said
Ariana Grande, Ethan Slater, and the Work Wife Theory
At 53:20 · chapter starts 53:00
Paige wastes no time: she wanted that man, she took that man, and she didn't even keep that man. Ethan Slater is characterized as a theater-world fuckboy who only had the confidence to pursue Ariana Grande because, in the small, insular theater ecosystem, he is considered desirable — a very different proposition than, say, working in finance. Hannah's hot take is more psychological: she theorizes that Ariana Grande, like Justin Bieber, has maxed out her dopamine from a career of extraordinary achievements and needs increasingly extreme emotional experiences to feel anything — including stealing someone's partner. Paige responds with genuine empathy: Ariana lived through Mac Miller's death and a bombing at her own concert in rapid succession, two events significant enough to rewire anyone's brain chemistry and moral compass. Both agree these are theories, not facts. The segment closes with Hannah's darkly funny observation that Ethan will one day have to explain to his child that their parents divorced because Dad left Mom for Ariana Grande, pop star.
Paige argues Ariana Grande's back-to-back traumas — Mac Miller's death and the Manchester bombing — rewired her brain so severely that normal moral calculus stopped applying. Hannah counters with the dopamine-depletion theory: Ariana has peaked so many times she needs to steal someone's love interest just to feel something. Both agree it was a classic work wife situation that expired the second Wicked wrapped.
