Tom Holland and Zendaya’s Dating Timeline: When Did They First Meet?

Tom Holland and Zendaya‘s romance didn’t come with a publicist’s statement or a coordinated photo drop. They spent the better part of a decade saying almost nothing, leaving us little about the facts of their relationship. From that silence, they went on to become a Hollywood power couple. They met in 2016 when they were cast together in the Marvel superhero movie.

Neither were aware that they were also meeting the person they would one day get married to. Holland has seemingly confirmed the big news during a recent interview. What makes Holland and Zendaya so endlessly compelling is how little they let us see while their romance blossomed.

Two people met as kids playing superheroes, grew up in the most public industry on earth, and somehow managed to build something private inside it. Here’s their complete relationship timeline.

2016: Tom Holland and Zendaya First Met on the Spider-Man Set

Tom Holland and Zendaya were cast as Peter Parker and MJ in Spider-Man: Homecoming, which was shot in Atlanta in 2016 before its 2017 release. They were barely out of their teens, both relative newcomers to a franchise that would define their careers. By all accounts, the friendship clicked immediately.

July 2017: Rumors Spread About Their Relationship

The chemistry between the stars didn’t go unnoticed. By mid-2017, dating speculation was everywhere. An insider spoke to PEOPLE in July 2017, “They 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” (via PEOPLE).

August 2017: Zendaya Confirms That They Were Friends

Speaking to Variety, Zendaya shut down the romance rumors. She kept it warm but flat, sharing, “We are friends. He’s a great dude. He’s literally one of my best friends.”

June 2019: Holland and Zendaya’s First On-Screen Kiss

In June 2019, Spider-Man: Far From Home gave audiences their first proper Holland-Zendaya kiss. It was one of the much-awaited Peter Parker-MJ moments, but fans of the two actors were also excited.

June 2019: Tom Holland Confirms Being Single

Around the same stretch, Holland publicly described himself as single. He shared with Elle that while he wasn’t romantically involved with anyone at the time, he was “definitely a relationship person.”

August 2019: Zendaya Is Seen With Euphoria Co-Star Jacob Elordi

In August, Zendaya was photographed vacationing in Greece with her Euphoria co-star Jacob Elordi, and the internet briefly redirected its shipping energy elsewhere (via Us Weekly). The Holland-Zendaya theory cooled, but it never quite died.

July 2021: Their Relationship Is Confirmed After Two More Years of Rumors

Then came the moment no media training could spin. In July 2021, Page Six published photos of the two kissing in Holland’s car at a red light in Los Angeles. They were both seen leaving Zendaya’s mother’s house on the same day. After two years of rumors, the relationship was, functionally, confirmed.

September 2021: Tom Holland Goes Insta Official With Their Relationship

Much to the excitement of their fans, Tom Holland made the relationship Instagram official when he posted a lovely message for Zendaya. His post, which included a cute photo of the couple, celebrated the Dune actress’s birthday. He wrote, “My MJ, have the happiest of birthdays. Gimme a call when your up xxx.”

December 2021: Zendaya’s Instagram Post About Tom Holland

Zendaya’s post celebrated the massive success of their movie, Spider-Man: No Way Home. She spoke highly of her boyfriend, sharing, “My Spider-Man, I’m so proud of you, some things never change and good thing.”

February 2022: They Appear Together for Uncharted Promotions

If 2021 was the confirmation, 2022 was the gentle debut. In February, the two arrived hand-in-hand at the Uncharted premiere, their first real red-carpet moment as a couple. It was cute that the former Disney star came to support her boyfriend’s starring role in one of the best video game adaptations.

April 2022: Zendaya Talks About Tom Holland’s Support During Euphoria Shoot

That April, Zendaya spoke about how steadying Holland’s support had been during the punishing Euphoria shoot. She shared with Entertainment Tonight, “I think it’s great to have that support and love around you, because you need that. This isn’t an easy job, so it’s good to have that to free you up from it every now and then.”

September 2022: She Talks About Holland Again After Winning an Emmy

In September, accepting her second Emmy for her role as Rue, she let slip one of the most quietly iconic lines of their whole timeline. She shared with E! News, “I texted my boyfriend [after winning].” She didn’t even need to name him at that moment.

October 2022: They Visited the Louvre in Paris

In October, the pair were spotted together at the Louvre in Paris, doing the things low-key couples do, just with more cameras (via PEOPLE).

June 2023: Tom Holland Opens Up About Their Relationship

In a summer interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Holland described the relationship as something they kept “as sacred as possible,” adding that they didn’t feel they owed it to anyone. He shared:

Our relationship is something that we are incredibly protective of and we want to keep as sacred as possible. We don’t think that we owe it to anyone, it’s our thing, and it has nothing to do with our careers.

When asked about his “rizz” during a BuzzFeed interview, he shared, “I’m happy and in love, so I’ve got no need for rizz.” He also gushed that Zendaya was his celebrity crush in childhood. Later during his appearance on the SmartLess podcast, he shared, “I’m lucky that I have someone like Zendaya in my life. It’s interesting being in a romantic relationship with someone that is in the same boat as you.”

August 2023: Zendaya Speaks About Protecting the Peace in Their Relationship

Zendaya echoed the sentiment in Elle that August, framing it as “protecting the peace.” She acknowledged that parts of her life would be public, but insisted she controlled what she chose to share. She shared, “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.”

January 2024: Tom Holland Responds to Rumors About Their Split

Every long, quiet romance eventually meets the breakup-rumor mill, and theirs arrived in January 2024. The rumors started when she unfollowed everyone on Instagram, including Holland. However, the actor clarified their relationship status in a TMZ video, sharing that they are “absolutely not” split up.

February 2024: Zendaya Comments on Tom Holland’s Charisma

That February, Zendaya talked admiringly about Holland’s charisma. She brought up his name during an unrelated question about the “rizz” of her Dune cast mates. She shared with BuzzFeed:

Everybody’s kind of got their own. I think someone who has beautiful charisma, not on the Dune cast, but I know personally, works for me, is Mr. Tom Holland. 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.

The comment came a few days after they showed up holding hands at an after-party tied to the Dune: Part Two premiere.

April 2024: Insider Comments on Their Potential Marriage

By spring, industry insiders were openly speculating about marriage. A source told PEOPLE that their relationship had become very serious. They shared, “There has been talk of marriage, and that is a reality,” but added, “Work is important to both and that keeps them busy now.” The signs were accumulating.

October 2024: Tom Holland Says He Read Spider-Man 4 Script With Zendaya

In October 2024, Holland gave a rare glimpse behind the curtain, mentioning that he had read the Spider-Man 4 script alongside Zendaya. He shared on The Rich Roll podcast:

Zendaya and I sat down and read it together and we at times were like bouncing around the living room. Like this is a real movie worthy of the fans’ respect, but there [are] a few things we need to figure out before we can get that really going. But it’s exciting and I’m really, really excited about it.

The small detail delighted fans who were hungry for any crumb of their personal life. He further shared about how he wanted to give fans the best version of Spider-Man‘s new chapter.

October 2024: Zendaya Appeared for Holland’s Non Alcoholic Beer Launch

The same month, Zendaya appeared at the launch of Holland’s non-alcoholic beer brand, Bero, the two in matching burgundy (via Elle). He memorably stepped in to shield her from a swarm of paparazzi.

December 2024: Tom Holland Opens Up About Holiday Plans With Zendaya

By December, he was talking about holiday plans with her. During his appearance on the Dish from Waitrose podcast, he shared, “I’m going to be in America this year. I’ll be with my girlfriend’s family, which is fun.” He further shared about how he planned to bring the families together next year. He sounded very much like a man building a future.

January 2025: Their Engagement News Broke Out

In January 2025, Zendaya walked the Golden Globes red carpet wearing a substantial diamond on her left hand, and the engagement chatter erupted instantly. This time, the rumors about Zendaya and Tom Holland’s engagement had substance. Within a day, TMZ confirmed the news through sources close to the couple.

Reportedly, Holland had proposed over the holidays at one of Zendaya’s family homes. It was an intimate, just-the-two-of-them affair, after first seeking her father’s blessing months earlier. The details were revealed by Dominic Holland, his father, on his Patreon (via PEOPLE). True to form, neither posted a sparkly announcement. The ring did the talking.

August 2025: They Were Spotted Together for the Spider-Man: Brand New Day Shoot

In August 2025, the two were spotted together during production on Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the fourth solo Spidey film to pair them as Peter and MJ. Nearly a decade after they first met on a Marvel set, they were once again sharing scenes on set. Only this time, the on-screen couple is engaged in real life.

March 2026: AI-Generated Wedding Photos of the Couple Go Viral

In March 2026, AI-generated “wedding photos” of the couple flooded social media, racking up millions of likes and fooling an astonishing number of people. The confusion had been primed by Zendaya’s longtime stylist, Law Roach, who told Access Hollywood at the 2026 Actor Awards that “the wedding has already happened. You missed it.”

Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on March 16, Zendaya played coy about the marriage talk and addressed the fake images with a laugh. “Babe, they’re AI. They’re not real,” she recalled telling friends who had congratulated her on photos that didn’t exist. Whether the couple is actually married, they’ve declined to say definitively.

June 2026: They Made Their First Red Carpet Appearance Since 2021

On June 15, 2026, in Madrid, Tom Holland and Zendaya posed together at a Spider-Man: Brand New Day photocall. It was their first joint red carpet since promoting No Way Home back in 2021. They appeared in coordinated black, with Holland’s arm around her waist, and the two smiling brightly for the cameras.

June 2026: Tom Holland Addresses Marriage Rumors (And Confirmed Them?!)

During his interview with Esquire UK, Tom Holland explained how his grandmother was fooled by the AI wedding photos. When the interviewer asked whether he had sent out messages to other family members, he responded with: “No, because they were all there.” It is as close to a confirmation as we can get from the actor that the wedding had already happened. He shut down any follow-up questions, sharing, “That’s all you’ll get on that.”

He also spoke about how they support one another, explaining that they both understand the realities of living in the public eye. He shared, “So, for me, I found my person. She’s my best friend, and I’m the happiest I have ever been when I’m with her, but I have also never felt so supported and safe, ever. Period.” Those are the words of someone who has committed to a lifelong future with his partner.

What do you think of this relationship between the two Spider-Man stars? Let us know in the comments below!

The fourth chapter of their partnership, Brand New Day, hits theaters on July 31, 2026.