Ariana Grande is dating a guy who plays SpongeBob SquarePants -- but it ain't the main one you're thinking of ... which is why the wife of the real SB is chirping up.
Fellow voice actor Jill Talley -- who's married to the man who's been voicing SpongeBob on TV for years now -- posted a clarification in response to an IG post from The Cut ... which ran with a confusing headline about AG's new boo, Ethan Slater.
It reads, "Is Ariana Grande Dating Spongebob Now?" and it also features a shot of Ariana and Ethan -- this of course after we broke the news that the 'Wicked' costars are together.
Naturally, The Cut's implication here is technically accurate ... but not totally clear in and of itself. Yes, Slater portrays a live-action version of SpongeBob on Broadway -- a role for which he's earned Tony noms. But he's NOT the voice actor who's been playing him forever now.
That's something JT wanted to set the record straight on, commenting on The Cut's post ... "Hi everyone, I’m married to Tom Kenny (who voices SpongeBob on the TV show). 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."
She added this on her own relationship ... "Just wanted to set the record straight. P.S. as for me and Tom Kenny -- we are celebrating our 27th wedding anniversary today."
In other words ... one dude shouldn't be mistaken for the other -- and for a minute, it sounds like they were. Good to know the OG SpongeBoy is faithful through and through.
Like we first told you ... Ethan and Ariana have been dating each other for a few months now -- making the timeline of things a little murky. We know she and Dalton Gomez had ended their relationship in January, but that they also gave it one last go in May during their 2-year anniversary. On the face of it, it seems like there might've been some overlap.
As for Ethan, he's also still married ... but we're hearing he, too, is separated from his wife.