Zendaya and Tom Holland spent years insisting they were just friends, then just costars, then finally nothing at all worth commenting on. A kiss caught in a car in 2021 said otherwise, and everything since has moved at exactly the pace they’ve always preferred: private, deliberate, and almost entirely on their own terms.
What started as a Marvel casting call in 2016 quietly became one of the most guarded relationships in Hollywood, engagement rumors sparked by a single ring at the Golden Globes, a wedding confirmed only after fake AI photos forced their hand, and a couple who, even now, would rather keep the small, ordinary moments private than announce anything to the world. Below, we trace the whole story, from a poolside photo in 2016 to a marriage nobody saw coming until it already happened.
Photo: Courtesy of Zendaya and Tom Holland
2016: Cast Together
Zendaya and Tom Holland were cast as MJ and Peter Parker for Marvel’s Spider-Man reboot in March 2016, with Spider-Man: Homecoming beginning production that June and hitting theaters in July 2017. Two young actors thrown together on set, with no idea what would eventually come of it.
July 2016: First Instagram Appearance
Holland shared a photo of the two of them at a pool with a mutual friend, captioned simply, “Summer Sunday’s.” It marked Zendaya’s first appearance on his Instagram, the earliest public trace of a friendship that had already started forming off camera.
Photo: Courtesy of Tom Holland
November 2016: The Hollywood Reporter Cover
Just a few months later, Zendaya posted their shared Hollywood Reporter cover. “Amidst all the chaos and sadness…this one good thing did happen to me today,” she wrote. “Honored to share it with the very best…Spider-Man himself.”
Photo: Courtesy of Zendaya
June–July 2017: Shutting Down the Rumors
As the two promoted Spider-Man: Homecoming together, they were photographed constantly, and dating speculation followed almost immediately. What looked to the public like something more still read, to the two of them, like the easy chemistry of familiar coworkers. They shut the rumors down on Twitter, with Zendaya joking, “Wait wait…my favorite is when it says we go on vacations together HA! I haven’t been on a vacation in years! hbu @TomHolland1996???” Holland replied, “Does the press tour count.”
A month later, she told Variety plainly, “We are friends. He’s a great dude. He’s literally one of my best friends. 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.”
December 2017: Meeting the Parents
Despite months of denials, Holland was spotted having dinner with Zendaya’s parents, a detail that quietly contradicted everything the two of them had been saying publicly.
May 2018: All Hail the Queen
Zendaya arrived at the Met Gala in a Joan of Arc-inspired chainmail Versace gown, and Holland posted a photo of her to his Instagram with the caption, “All hail the queen. Killing it mate.”
Photo: Courtesy of Tom Holland
June 2018: A Birthday
The following month, Zendaya shared a video of Holland goofing off with a lightsaber to mark his birthday, captioned “Happy birthday loser…”
September 2018: The Comic Book Store Date
Holland celebrated Zendaya’s birthday with a paparazzi photo from a date at a comic book store, standing beside a Spider-Man statue. “Me, myself and the birthday girl,” he wrote. “Happy birthday mate, keep killing it and paving the way for the rest of us.”
Photo: Courtesy of Tom Holland
June 2019: "I'm Single"
Holland told ELLE he was single and not romantically involved with anyone, adding a bit of insight into how he approaches relationships in general. “I’m definitely a relationship person,” he said. “I’m not the fleeting type at all; it’s not my way of life.”
2019–2020: Different Paths, For Now
Zendaya was linked to actor Jacob Elordi, while Holland appeared to go Instagram official with actress Nadia Parkes, who he was reportedly spending lockdown with in London. For a stretch, their stories moved in entirely separate directions.
July 2021: The Kiss That Changed Everything
Up until this point, Zendaya and Holland had presented to the world as nothing more than friends and costars. Then photos surfaced of the two kissing in a car at a red light in Los Angeles. The internet lost its mind almost instantly. Official confirmation, however, was still a long way off.
September 2021: Instagram Official
The moment finally arrived on Zendaya’s 25th birthday. Holland shared an iconic mirror selfie from the Spider-Man set, writing, “My MJ, have the happiest of birthdays. Gimme a call when your up xxx.”
Photo: Courtesy of Tom Holland
October 2021: On Set and On the Record
Holland shared another photo of Zendaya, captioned simply “dune” with a heart-eye emoji.
That same month, Zendaya opened up to InStyle about watching him work on set. “I appreciate that he really loves being Spider-Man,” she said. “It’s a lot of pressure, you take on the role of a superhero wherever you go. To the little kid who walks by, you are Spider-Man. I think he handled that so well. I watched him do a fight scene all day, which is exhausting. He’d do a move, come back to the monitors, watch it, and say, ‘I can do that better.’ I’d be like, ‘Dude, you got it.’ But he wants us to be perfect, and I really appreciate that.”
Photo: Courtesy of Tom Holland
November 2021: Guarding Their Privacy
Holland addressed the paparazzi photos directly in a GQ profile. “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,” he 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. We sort of felt robbed of our privacy.”
December 2021: My Spider-Man
Right before Spider-Man: No Way Home hit theaters, Zendaya posted a tribute to Holland pairing a shot of him suspended in the suit with a throwback photo of him dressed as Spider-Man as a kid. “My Spider-Man, I’m so proud of you,” she wrote. “Some things never change and good thing.”
Photo: Courtesy of Zendaya
June 2022: A Quiet Celebration
Zendaya marked Holland’s 26th birthday with a photo of the two of them, warm and understated, exactly the kind of low-key celebration the couple had settled into by this point.
Photo: Courtesy of Zendaya
March 2023: Wearing Each Other's Initials
The two took a quiet-luxury approach to declaring their love. Zendaya was spotted wearing a signet ring engraved with Holland’s initials, “TH,” caught on video by her manicurist. Holland, meanwhile, had a “Z” embroidered onto several of his pants, small, deliberate gestures that said more than any public statement could.
June 2023: Childhood Crush, Confirmed
Asked in a BuzzFeed interview to name his childhood celebrity crush, Holland didn’t hesitate. “Zendaya. Easily.” That same month, in a Hollywood Reporter cover story, he explained why the two of them keep things private. “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.”
July 2023: "I'm Lucky"
Speaking with Jay Shetty, Holland reflected on what makes the relationship work. “I feel 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.” He later described the relationship in even simpler terms, calling it “the thing I keep most sacred.”
August 2023: Protecting the Peace
In an Elle cover story, Zendaya spoke candidly about navigating a highly public relationship. “Parts of my life, I accept, are going to be public,” she said. “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.”
October 2023: Puppies
The two shared a rare, unguarded glimpse into their relationship, cuddling newborn puppies together. Holland posted the moment to his grid captioned simply, “Puppies.” Zendaya’s comment needed no words at all.
Photo: Courtesy of Tom Holland
March 2024: Courtside at Indian Wells
The couple made one of their biggest public appearances of the year at the BNP Paribas Open final in Indian Wells, California, sitting courtside and looking thoroughly relaxed together. Their attention held, at least until Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” played over the stadium speakers and the two were caught on the big screen singing and grooving along.
May–August 2024: Supporting Each Other on Stage
Zendaya showed up for Holland twice at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London, first for press night and then again for his final performance as Romeo in the West End’s Romeo & Juliet, arriving with a bouquet of flowers in hand for the closing show.
October 2024: Checking In
On the podcast On the Menu, Holland admitted the last thing he’d Googled was Zendaya’s name, a habit rooted more in anxiety than curiosity, especially since deleting his own social media. “The last thing I googled was actually Zendaya,” he said. “I’m not on socials and I delete it when I’m not using it. So sometimes like, it’s more of a bit of an anxiety thing…I’ll check to see if everything’s good and to make sure we’re all cool. So I just give her a little Google and look through the news and I’m like, ‘she’s good.'”
December 2024: Blending Two Families
Holland shared his holiday plans on the Dish podcast. “I’m going to be in America this year,” he said. “I’ll be with my girlfriend’s family, which is fun.” He added that the two eventually hope to bring both families together for the holidays instead of splitting time between them. “That’s what I think we want to do next time. This time, since we’re both actors, we’re terrible at organizing things, so it hasn’t happened yet.”
January 2025: Her Moment, Not His
Holland explained to Men’s Health why he tends to skip Zendaya’s red carpet premieres. “Because it’s not my moment, it’s her moment, and if we go together, it’s about us.”
That same month, at the Golden Globes, Zendaya sparked engagement speculation with a new diamond ring that didn’t match her usual Bulgari pieces, wearing a custom tangerine-toned Louis Vuitton dress on the carpet. People soon confirmed the engagement, reporting that Holland had proposed sometime between Christmas and New Year’s.
Photo: Getty Images / Matt Winkelmeyer
March 2026: Setting the Record Straight on AI Photos
Viral AI-generated wedding photos of the couple began circulating online, and Zendaya addressed them directly on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Asked about rumors they had secretly married, she replied, “Really? I haven’t seen any of that.” She went on to clarify the images weren’t real. “Many people have been fooled by them. While I was, like, just out and about in real life, and people were like, ‘Oh my god, your wedding photos are gorgeous.’ And I was like, ‘Babe, they’re AI.'”
June 2026: Married, Confirmed
Holland and Zendaya made their first official red carpet appearance together since 2021 at the Spider-Man: Brand New Day photo call in Madrid. The next day, an Esquire UK cover story confirmed what fans had long suspected: the two had actually gotten married. Discussing the fake AI wedding photos from March, Holland revealed his grandmother had reached out about them. Asked if he’d had to explain things to other family members too, he said, “No, because they were all there.”
Pressed further on when the wedding had actually happened, he simply replied, “That’s all you’ll get on that.” Later that month, he shared photos from Rome during the film’s press tour, captioning them, “When in Rome! Spider-Man Brand New Day,” the two of them walking hand in hand and smiling.
Photo: Courtesy of Tom Holland
