Real-Life Love
Emerald City of Love! The ‘Wicked’ Cast & Their Real-Life Relationships
Step aside, Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), Glinda (Ariana Grande), and Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey). We’re ready to talk about the actors behind the characters.
When you’re in the magical world of Wicked, everything can be seen through the lens of self-acceptance and love, whether romantic or not. Having spent so much time in that world, it makes sense that many members of the cast pour that same energy into their personal lives.
While Elphaba and Fiyero’s love story is just beginning, who are the real-life loves of Erivo, Bailey, and the rest of the ensemble? Scroll down to learn more about the Wicked cast’s romantic relationships ahead of the 2025 Oscars. The adaptation notably received 10 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.
Wicked, Streaming March 21, 2025, Peacock
Cynthia Erivo
Cynthia Erivo and Lena Waithe first met each other in May 2018 while attending the Met Gala. It took a couple of years before they officially started dating.
However, their connection was apparent from the get-go. That same month, Erivo posted a photo with Waithe at the event. She captioned it, “Me and @lenawaithe. I finally found my sis. Lena you are absolutely everything. You are perfection. What a meeting of minds, glad to have you in my life! Stuck like glue !!! SHINE QUEEN SHINE!!”
Never confirming their romance, it is assumed that their relationship started in 2020. From 2022 onwards, Erivo and Waithe have started be more open with their romance by attending events together.
Ariana Grande & Ethan Slater
Turns out, the Wicked set was quite romantic. Between the nine million tulips being planted and the whimsical display of wonder, Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater found love with each other.
Quite the controversy, both parties split up with their spouses during the filming and post-production of Wicked. Getting together in the summer of 2023, the couple is heading towards their two-year anniversary.
On January 23, Slater made his first public acknowledgement of his relationship with the superstar on his social media. Posting a photo of the “Eternal Sunshine” singer with balloons in her hand the same day her Oscar nomination was announced.
That same day, he also shared his excitement on his Instagram stories. Since then, the two have slowly introduced some levels of PDA while attending events together.
Michelle Yeoh
The iconic actor and her husband, Jean Todt, were engaged for 19 years before they tied the knot in 2020. Michelle Yeoh, aka Madame Morrible, has been open about her romantic relationship with the former CEO of Ferrari for many years, and he has been with her throughout many big moments in her career. The most notable one being her historic Oscar win.
The Everything Everywhere All At Once star shared a beautiful message with her Instagram followers, “19 years and YES!! we are married!! Thkq to our ‘families’ who love us for all these years . We love you and here’s to many more to come.”
The couple had two ceremonies, one in Geneva and in Yeoh’s hometown of Ipoh, Malaysia.
Peter Dinklage
Celebrating their 20-year anniversary in 2025, Peter Dinklage and Erica Schmidt know how to make a marriage last! The two eloped in Las Vegas. He was there for a charity event and decided to say “I do” at the same time.
They met two years prior in New York City. “We were all at a friend’s house and someone said, ‘They’re walking the elephants through the Queens-Midtown Tunnel.’ The circus was in town and it was snowing, and they were walking the elephants through Manhattan, a long line of them. It was like something out of a beautiful, fantastical, end-of-the-world, crazy, romantic movie,” Dinklage recalled to The New York Times. “See? I always think about movies. So that’s the night we met, the night the elephants walked through Manhattan.”
In their time together, they have welcomed two kids, a daughter in 2011, and another child in 2016. They worked together on the movie Cyrano.
Marissa Bode
Marissa Bode and her partner, Wren Brooks, are as cute as can be! Often sharing their love with the world through Instagram, friends and fans alike love to see their get-ups. Occasionally dressing up, their creativity is fun to witness.
In October 2024, they dressed up as Chappell Roan and the siren from the artist’s “Casual” music video. Brooks was also seen supporting Bode at her Wicked events such as premieres and awards ceremonies. They reportedly started dating in 2023. Bode stars as Nessarose in the Wicked adaptation.
Jeff Goldblum
Married since 2014, Jeff Goldblum and his wife, Emilie Livingston, met each other in 2011.
The Jurassic Park actor, who plays the famed Wizard, and the retired Olympic gymnast met while working out. Goldblum revealed to WIRED, “We were at Equinox on Sunset Blvd., the gym.” Since then, their relationship has flourished. The item has welcomed two kids together, Charlie, 9, and River Joe, 7.
Bronwyn James
Bronwyn James has had an amazing couple of years. After being cast as Shenshen in Wicked in 2022, she married her wife Katherine-Elizabeth James in 2023. Both wore floral dresses on their wedding day. They made things official on May 6, 2023.
Jonathan Bailey
Notoriously private actor Jonathan Bailey does not like to give away too many personal information bits.
Yet, in 2023, Bailey revealed that he is, indeed, in a relationship with a “lovely man.” He divulged to the Evening Standard, “It’s not secret, but it’s private,” Bailey explained. “Having a private life is, for me, completely critical. I don’t know if I would be able to be as confident to speak out on other things if I felt that my whole life was up for grabs.”
Whether they are still together right now is unknown, but as his fame continues to grow, he likely wants to be even more cautious with the information that he shares. In a conversation with GQ Hype, he opened up that he is required to “think about love a lot” because of his job. He continued, “You put your life experiences into [the work].”
Bowen Yang
Bowen Yang‘s love life is not out in the open. The comedian prefers to keep his relationship status private. For fans of the Wicked actor, who plays Pfannee, he does share some occasional glimpses on his podcast, Las Culturistas, which he co-hosts with Matt Rogers.
Bringing up flings or even more serious dates, Yang makes it clear that he doesn’t want anyone to investigate who it is. Therefore, he never gives away any identifying details.
Andy Nyman
Andy Nyman, who plays Governor Thropp, has been in the public eye for quite some time as an actor, magician, and writer. The British performer and his wife both have eclectic social media pages that reference each other quite often. From celebrating their love to going to concerts together, these two know how to keep life fun! They have two children together.
