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Top Secret Romance! Everything Tom Holland & Zendaya Have Said About Their Love Story
It’s official — Tom Holland and Zendaya are the it couple. Not only has their recently announced engagement taken the internet by storm, but the lore of their entire relationship continues to be relived and unpacked by the sleuths, fan accounts, and hopeless romantics of the internet.
Much like their engagement, the Spider-Man couple have kept their personal relationship under wraps for the most part. Despite countless press tours, carpets, and awards seasons spent together since they were first cast in Marvel’s Spider-Man: Homecoming as Peter Parker and MJ, the two have rarely come forward about just how crazy they are about each other, let alone the officiality of their relationship. The media training is impressive.
The two started working together in 2017, but despite being obviously close as friends, the relationship wasn’t official until July 2021 when paparazzi caught them kissing in their car. Over the course of their three-ish year relationship (though who knows how long they’ve really been going steady), the number of times either party has publicly acknowledged their romantic relationship is few and far between. Keep reading to revisit all of the moments that Holland and Zendaya have talked about their relationship.
When they hard-launched their relationship on each other’s birthdays in 2021 and 2022
Shortly after their relationship was official, Holland posted a photo of himself and Zendaya in their dressing room for Spider-Man with the caption, “My MJ, have the happiest of birthdays. Gimme a call when your up.” Yes, he used the wrong “you’re,” but the post was so cute we had to forgive him. This marked the first official romantic post of the couple as well as the first time either had publicly acknowledged their romance.
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His post was shortly followed by Zendaya’s own romantic birthday appreciation post in 2022 for Holland’s big day, with the caption, “Happiest of birthdays to the one who makes me the happiest” followed by a heart emoticon.
After Zendaya won the Emmy for Euphoria in 2022
After winning her second Emmy for her performance in Euphoria as the drug-addled teenager Rue (also making her the youngest two-time Emmy Award winner and the first Black actress to win for lead in a drama series), Zendaya spoke with E! News about who she texted first after winning. Her reply: “Well, I didn’t have to text my mom because my mom was already there. She’s here tonight, which is very special. And I texted my boyfriend.”
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When Holland joked about ‘rizz’ in a 2023 BuzzFeed interview (and Zendaya later in 2024)
Holland discussed how he has “no need for rizz” (slang for “charisma”) during a BuzzFeed interview because he was already in love. “I have no need for rizz whatsoever. I have limited rizz… I need you to fall in love with me, really, for it to work,” he said. “So, long game. Probably making a movie with each other—definitely helps when the characters are falling in love with one another. You can sort of blur the lines a little bit.”
In another Buzzfeed interview, the Dune actress was asked who had the most rizz in the cast of 2021 Denis Villeneuve adaptation. She cleverly avoided the question and answered from the heart. “I think someone who has beautiful charisma, not on the Dune cast, but I personally… works for me, is Mr. Tom Holland,” she said.
She continued to gush about her boyfriend, complimenting his people skills. “I’m more shy and kind of quiet, so it takes a little bit more to pull me out of my shell. But he’s great at just talking to people and getting to know people…He’s just naturally very good at that,” Zendaya said.
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When Holland expressed how ‘lucky’ he is on Smartless in July 2023
Holland joined Smartless podcast hosts Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett to discuss the ongoings of his life as a celebrity as well as his passion for sobriety. The actor discussed why he and Zendaya work so well as a couple. “I’m lucky that I have someone like Zendaya in my life,” he said. “It’s interesting being in a romantic relationship with someone that is in the same boat as you. You can share your experiences and all that sort of stuff—and that’s worth its weight in gold.”
When they discussed how they protect their relationship
The couple is one of Hollywood’s favorite long-standing young couples, and this would not have been possible without the intentions they set out for each other in order to protect it. “Parts of my life, I accept, are going to be public,” Zendaya shared in an Elle interview. “I can’t not be a person and live my life and love the person I love. But also, I do have control over what I choose to share. It’s about protecting the peace and letting things be your own but also not being afraid to exist. You can’t hide. That’s not fun, either. I am navigating it more than ever now.”
Holland expressed a similar sentiment in a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter. “Our relationship is 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.”
When Holland denied their breakup rumors in 2024
On January 4, Zendaya unfollowed everyone she was following on Instagram, including her boyfriend, while Holland’s account still followed Zendaya’s. Despite this decision seeming to be more for her brand, the internet began to speculate that the couple had broken up—so much so that Holland told reporters that they are “absolutely not” split up in a video shared by TMZ.
When Zendaya received her favorite flowers during an interview in Italy
On her Challengers press tour during an interview on the Che Tempo Che Fa show in Italy, Zendaya was gifted a bouquet of gardenias. When she happily accepted and said they were here favorite flowers, the host asked in Italian, “Does Spider-Man give you gardenias?” Zendaya then jokingly made eye contact with the camera and said, “I hope he’s watching.” The likelihood that Holland bought her the biggest bouquet of gardenias afterwards is frankly through the roof.
When Holland admitted to getting a new dog without running it by Zendaya
The Spider-Man actor admitted to being spontaneous at times during a video interview with LADbible, discussing his latest impulsive decision being buying a new dog named Daphne. He mentioned his girlfriend, however, and how he had to tell her after the fact. “I bought a dog the other day and did not run it by my girlfriend at all,” Holland said. When asked how telling her went, he replied, “Fine.” Later in the interview, he said he owned two dogs: Noon and Daphne. And guess who else owns a dog named Noon? None other than Z herself, making all four of them one happy family.
When Holland addressed why they don’t walk red carpets together
Given the sheer number of their individual accolades and projects, it’s surprising that the couple hasn’t been seen on as many carpets together, aside from the Spider-Man movies. Holland has addressed this specifically, however, as the couple was very intentional about this as well—as they always are. “It’s not my moment,” he shared with Men’s Health. “It’s her moment, and if we go together, it’s about us.” We love a humble king.
