Tom Holland and Zendaya didn’t immediately start dating after meeting on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming. The costars developed a solid friendship over the years. But after sparking romance rumors more than once, the two unintentionally confirmed they were dating by the summer of 2021.
In July of that year, photos of the happy couple surfaced online of them sharing a kiss in a car, then smiling at each other affectionately. Four months later, Tom broke his silence on the incident in a November 2021 interview with GQ, revealing they both felt “robbed of our privacy” after that.
“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,” the Impossible actor said.
Tom also explained that the situation wasn’t “about not being ready [to talk about the romance publicly] — it’s just that we don’t want to.”
“It’s not a conversation that I can have without her,” he added. “You know, I respect her too much to say. … This isn’t my story, it’s our story. And we’ll talk about what it is when we’re ready to talk about it together.”
Despite this, Tom expressed his adoration for the Euphoria actress on social media. The first time was when he posted a sweet birthday tribute for her in September, calling her “My MJ” in an Instagram post. In October and November, the Cherry actor shared two more pictures of Zendaya at different red carpet events, the former promoting her film Dune and the latter congratulating her on winning the Fashion Icon Award at the CFDA Fashion Awards.
“Naaa stop it,” he captioned the post on November 11 with an image of Zendaya wearing a stunning red outfit. “An incredible achievement for the most incredible person.”
One month later, the Disney Channel alum brought their relationship to her Instagram page, calling her costar “My Spider-Man” in a carousel post ahead of the Spider-Man: No Way Home December 2021 premiere. Not only that, but Zendaya also started commenting on some of Tom’s posts — she commented with multiple heart eye emojis on her boyfriend’s sexy Instagram post that featured his campaign with Prada in January 2022.
Scroll through the gallery to see Tom Holland and Zendaya’s relationship timeline.