When it comes to celebrity couples, Tom Holland [1] and Zendaya [2] were once the king and queen of "are they or aren't they?" They were swarmed with romance rumours [3] from the moment they starred in 2017's "Spider-Man: Homecoming [4]" together, but they maintained they were just friends at first.
However, in July 2021, the two were spotted sharing a kiss [5] while stopped at a red light in Los Angeles. They later addressed the speculation in Holland's November 2021 GQ cover story [6]. "One of the downsides of our fame is that privacy isn't really in our control anymore, and a moment that you think is between two people that love each other very much is now a moment that is shared with the entire world," said Holland. "I've always been really adamant to keep my private life private, because I share so much of my life with the world anyway."
Recently, though, Holland has been giving more insight into their romance. "I'm lucky that I have someone like Zendaya [7] in my life," he said during a 3 July appearance on Jason Bateman [8], Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett [9]'s "Smartless" podcast [10]. "It's interesting being in a romantic relationship with someone that is in the same boat as you."
Previously, during a series of promotional interviews for his AppleTV+ series, "The Crowded Room" [11], he has opened up a little more about his relationship. "I have limited rizz (flirty banter, basically), my brother Paddy has ultimate rizz...I need you to fall in love with me, really, for it to work," he told BuzzFeed [12] in a 14 June interview when asked about his dating life. "Long game, probably making a movie with each other definitely helps when the characters you're playing are falling in love with one another, you can blur the lines a little bit," he added, hinting at the way he and Zendaya actually fell for each other IRL.
His role as Danny Sullivan in "The Crowded Room" saw him transform into 1970s costume, which included a "crazy hairstyle", and Holland hinted that Zendaya had to get used to his new look during the 10 months of filming. "And also I had the bangs. Bless Zendaya, she had a lot to put up with, with me looking like that for 10 months, it was rough," he told Radio Times [13] in a 2 June interview.
Prior to Holland's recent press, the two have given us the odd adorable glimpse into their relationship. On 1 June, 2022, Zendaya wished Holland a happy 26th birthday with a sweet Instagram tribute [14] featuring a cuddly black-and-white photo of the two looking very happy together. "Happiest of birthdays to the one who makes me the happiest," Zendaya captioned her post alongside a heart symbol. Earlier this year, Holland returned to social media to comment with heart eye emojis on Zendaya's NAACP red carpet look [15] on Instagram, while eagle-eyed fans spotted an "T" and "Z" initial ring [16] on Zendaya's finger while having a manicure. And the couple have recently been photographed hanging out together in London while Holland has been taking a break from acting [17].
In honour of their romance [18], let's look back at Zendaya and Holland's relationship timeline.
2017: Romance Rumours Begin Swirling
Zendaya [19] and Holland first met after they were both cast in 2017's "Spider-Man: Homecoming." Shortly after, rumours began swirling that the two were dating. "They started seeing each other while they were filming 'Spider-Man,'" a source told People [20] at the time. "They've been super careful to keep it private and out of the public eye but they've gone on vacations with each other and try and spend as much time as possible with one another."
However, Zendaya [21] later shut down the reports on Twitter [22], writing, "Wait wait...my favorite is when it says we go on vacations together HA! I haven't been on a vacation in years!" To which Holland jokingly replied [23], "@Zendaya Does the press tour count?"
Zendaya later doubled down on her comments in an interview with Variety [24], saying she and Holland were just friends. "He's a great dude. He's literally one of my best friends," she said. "This past how many months we've had to do press tours together. There's very few people that will understand what that's like at 20 years old."
2018: Tom Holland Gives His "Mate" a Shout Out
When Zendaya [25] turned heads at the 2018 Met Gala, Holland made sure to give his friend a shout out on Instagram [26]. "All hail the queen," he wrote alongside a photo of Zendaya. "Killing it mate 🙌🏻."
2019: Zendaya Begins Dating Jacob Elordi
As the romance rumours between Zendaya [27] and Holland fizzled out, Zendaya began dating her "Euphoria"costar [28] Jacob Elordi [29]. The two dated for about a year before they called it quits and Elordi moved on with Kaia Gerber [30].
2021: Zendaya and Tom Holland Reignite Romance Rumours
In July, the pair were spotted kissing [33] in Holland's car while stopped at a red light in Los Angeles, and two months later, Holland shared a sweet tribute for Zendaya's 25th birthday [34] on Instagram. "My MJ, have the happiest of birthdays," he wrote alongside a photo of the pair, referring to her "Spider-Man" character name. "Gimme a call when your up xxx." Zendaya [35] then replied in the comments, writing, "Calling now♥️."
Holland later addressed the speculation in his November 2021 GQ cover story [36]. "One of the downsides of our fame is that privacy isn't really in our control anymore, and a moment that you think is between two people that love each other very much is now a moment that is shared with the entire world," Holland said. "I've always been really adamant to keep my private life private, because I share so much of my life with the world anyway."
2022: Zendaya and Tom Holland Are Still Going Strong
The couple seem to be getting more comfortable with giving us glimpses of their romance. In addition to their date nights [37] and red carpet appearances [38], Zendaya [39] and Holland frequently shout each other out on social media. For Holland's 26th birthday in June, Zendaya [40] shared a sweet tribute [41] that included a candid black-and-white photo of the two. "Happiest of birthdays to the one who makes me the happiest," Zendaya captioned it. On 23 Nov., a source gave Us Weekly [42] an update on the pair's relationship and said, "They're both in settling-down mode and are absolutely planning for a real future together."
2023: Tom Holland Shares a Rare Insight into his Relationship With Zendaya
In a 14 June interview with The Hollywood Reporter [43], Holland opened up about how cautious he is of publicly sharing his relationship with Zendaya [44], explaining, "[It's] something that we are incredibly protective of and we want to keep as sacred as possible," he said. "We don't think that we owe it to anyone, it's our thing, and it has nothing to do with our careers." However, he did admit that they've been working on her golfing skills together. "I've given her a few lessons. She's very naturally talented, a real athlete, so she picked it up really quickly."
However, a day later, in an interview with Buzzfeed [45], the actor found almost every opportunity to slip in a mention of his girlfriend. He revealed that it's "intense" when Zendaya slides into his DMs with memes. "I'll have hundreds, and hundreds, and hundreds, of [memes] from her. I try and keep up, but it's intense," he revealed, also adding the fact that she was his childhood crush.
In a 23 June interview with UNILAD [46], he divulged some additional information about the early days of their courtship. "I fixed my girlfriend's door once really early on in our relationship," he said. "I was hanging out at her house and her door was broken. I was like, 'I'm gonna fix that door for you.' And now, we're in love."
Then, in July, Holland discussed his bond with Zendaya on an episode of Jason Bateman [47], Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett [48]'s podcast "SmartLess," [49] saying that he felt "lucky" to be going through the twists and turns of fame by her side. "You can share your experiences and all that sort of stuff," he said, "and that's worth its weight in gold."