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no way home
At the time, Holland had nothing but sweet things to say about his on-screen love interest.
He told People:
“We are like the best of friends. She’s so great and amazing."
“I’m a little worried [about dealing with fame, but] Zendaya is super famous and she’s been through this and I just call her up and say, ‘How do I manage being famous?’"
"I’m very glad I have a friend like her.”
Aww, adorable right? And with "friend" being the operative word, it wasn't much to go on to determine whether or not they were romantically linked by that point.
But it didn't take long for the two to casually appear together on each other's Instagram pages–which sparked rumors the pair were having a fling.
A source disclosed to People that the two:
“Started seeing each other while they were filming 'Spider-Man.'"
"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.”
Another source claimed they were very compatible with their sense of humor.
“They’re both really ambitious and they challenge each other—but, most importantly, they make each other crack up," said the insider.
"They seem to have a really similar sense of humor and love joking around together. They have great banter back and forth.”
But Holland and Zendaya both put the kibosh on romance rumors.
In August 2017, Zendaya told Variety:
"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."
The following month that same year when Zendaya turned 21, her "mate" posted a couple of photos of them from a photoshoot promoting Spider-Man: Homecoming, and he wished her a happy birthday.
He captioned the pics with:
“Thinking about how to get taller 😂 Happy birthday mate."
"Miss you and I’ll have a drink for you. #21stbirthday.”
But despite brushing off speculation about them dating, Tomdaya was fooling no one.
"Married," a fan quipped sarcastically, while another commented:
"The way you look at her in the second photo says it all."
In August 2019, any hopes fans had that the two were dating went south after a photo of Zendaya and her Euphoria co-star Jacob Elordi surfaced of them vacationing in Greece.
By February, they were found kissing on the streets of New York City, confirming that Holland and Zendaya have not been together during that period.
However, it appeared the two split as Elordi was spotted having dinner with his current girlfriend, Kaia Gerber, that September.
In July 2020, Holland confirmed on Instagram that he had an active thing going between him and actress Nadia Parkes.
Parkes isolated with Holland and his brother and a friend as the city of London went into lockdown–a decision the couple made together, according to a source, who said:
"Tom has told friends and family they're in an official relationship and living together so soon into their romance has only made them stronger."
However, a year later in July 2021, fans finally got the confirmation that the off-screen chemistry between Holland and Zendaya was genuine.
Speculations of them being in a relationship were sealed with a kiss when the two were photographed locking lips inside a car at a stop light on the streets of Los Angeles.
They were "Instagram official" after Holland shared a sweet photo of them in the dressing room during production on Spider-Man: No Way Home on Zendaya's 25th birthday.
“My MJ," he wrote in the caption, referring to her Spider-Man character's name, Mary Jane.
"Have the happiest of birthdays. Gimme a call when your up xxx.”
To which Zendaya replied:
“Calling now ❤️.”
Since their relationship was finally public, fans have been looking for clues indicating when their affection for each other began to take root.
Internet sleuths believed they hit the jackpot when they found a tweet from 2017–the same year they denied rumors of dating each other.
The vintage Instagram post by Holland in June 2017 was a photo of his face looking longingly off in the distance while on the red carpet for the premiere of Spider-Man: Homecoming.
He teased Zenday in the caption with:
“Stealing hearts since never @zendaya.”
To which Zendaya replied, “I hate you,” followed by three laughing emojis and three crying-laughing emojis.
@tomholland/Instagram
Minutes later, she screenshot their exchange and posted it on her own page, writing, “I really can't stand him @TomHolland1996,” this time with four laughing emojis.
The resurfaced tweet went viral as fans finally realized Zendaya had been crushing on her guy since 2017–their summer of love.
Her adoration of him was evident in her endless use of laughing emojis.
Users noted the quick responses weren't normal behavior of a respected work colleague.
And in case anyone needs what's going on spelled out for them...
Holland divulged in an interview with Unilad that his romance with Zendaya originated with his experience as a handyman.
He said:
"I fixed my girlfriend's door once, really early on in our relationship."
"I was hanging out at her house and her door was broken and I was like, 'I'm going to fix that door for you.' And now we're in love."
And the rest is history.