Tom Holland and Zendaya: The Spiderverse Will They, Won’t They Ship

In the world of Spider-Man films, the love bug may have bit most of the actors. After all, most Spider-Man love interests took their romance to real life. Tobey Maguire dated Kirsten Dunst (who played Spidey’s Mary Jane Watson) in 2001 while Andrew Garfield dated Emma Stone (who played Spidey’s Gwen Stacy) in 2011.

Naturally, people expected their successors to do the same. All eyes were on “Spider-Man: Homecoming” co-stars Tom Holland and Zendaya and their relationship status. Would the third man to don Spider-Man’s suit develop romantic Spidey senses for his on-screen love interest IRL?

See, this is where it gets tricky.

Out of all the Spider-Man relationships, Zendaya and Tom Holland’s is one that baffled both the media and their fans the most. Since the beginning of their friendship-relationship-or-whatever-you-want-to-call-it, the pair has been swarmed with dating and breakup rumors. In 2017, PEOPLE magazine even “confirmed” that Zendaya was dating her Spiderman IRL, only to be debunked by the actress herself via Twitter.

Since then, it has been a string of rumors concerning Tom Holland and Zendaya’s dating life, most of them determined to pair the two up. But the two actors, living up to their carefree and humorous attitudes, seem to be pranking everyone back. They’re like two goofs who send Spiderman memes on their free time — two best friends who happen to be on-screen lovers.

Or are they just trying to brush the dating reality off?

If you’re one of the people asking “Are Tom Holland and Zendaya together?” or a big fan secretly hoping they are or are just invested in celebrity rumors, here is a detailed analysis of the pair’s timeline together, their chemistry and their actual relationship status.

A Complete Timeline of Tom Holland and Zendaya’s Definite Friendship and Rumored Romance

Although the couple has maintained a commendable level of privacy in terms of Hollywood standards, sleuths have reported on their most likely romance. But as mentioned, Tom and Zendaya have denied everything.

So here’s a breakdown of their sneaky relationship and judge for yourself.

• • After Zendaya and Tom Holland were announced as part of the new “Spider-Man” cast, the two began appearing on each other’s social media accounts, especially on Instagram. The first sighting was on Tom’s account in July 2016. He posted a photo of him and Zendaya having some fun pool time with another friend. The caption: “Summer Sunday’s.”
  • In the same year, Zendaya posted a photo of their Hollywood Reporter cover on her Instagram. Her caption was pretty sweet, saying that in the middle of the “chaos and sadness,” a good thing happened to her that day, which was the cover “with the very best…Spider-Man himself.” Later that month, she praised Holland again when she posted a video of their visit to a children’s hospital in New York. In the caption, she dubbed Tom as one of her favorite people.
• • The Spider-Man duo continued accompanying each other to high-profile events. In May, Tom and Zendaya presented together during the MTV Movie and TV Awards.
  • Their press tours began. The pair posed endlessly for red carpets together. Before the premiere of Spider-Man: Homecoming, Tom opened up about his friendship with Zendaya, calling her his best friend. He adds that Zendaya helped him “manage being famous,” too.
  • PEOPLE published their report that confirmed the two co-stars were in a relationship. According to the magazine’s source, Tom and Zendaya kept things private but have gone on vacations with each other. As mentioned, Zendaya denied the rumors with a tweet.
  • Zendaya denied rumors of their relationship in an issue of Variety, repeating that they are friends. Like Holland, she called him her best friend. She also talked about the audition process with Tom, admitting that she feared their height difference would affect her chances of getting MJ’s role.
  • The two took a big step in their relationship when Holland hung out with Zendaya and her family. They were seen having dinner with her parents at a local steakhouse in New York.
• • The two attended the Oscars and walked the red carpet separately. However, they were seen seated next to each other during the ceremony. Later that month, Tom and Zendaya were also spotted heading to a Los Angeles comic book store. They even had a man take their photo next to a Spider-Man statue.
  • Zendaya attended the Met Gala and wore a Joan of Arc-inspired chainmail gown made by Versace. Holland posted a photo of her and called her a queen. He finished his caption with a “Killing it mate.”
  • Tom’s sweet birthday greeting for Zendaya rocked the boat when Skai Jackson’s mother confirmed to a commenter that the co-stars were dating. She later denied the rumors. Tom and Zendaya, unbothered by the rumors, then flew to Venice with their Spider-Man co-star Jacob Batalon.
• • At the beginning of their “Spider-Man: Far From Home” press tour, Tom’s Instagram got a little raunchy — by accident. He posted a photo of himself with Zendaya and Batalon and accidentally tagged Zendaya in a very NSFW place. Zendaya noticed, commenting that Holland’s lack of Instagram knowledge is to blame for the placement of her name, which Holland acknowledged by correcting the tag and editing his caption.

Are Tom Holland and Zendaya Together?

Even before “Spider-Man: Homecoming” was released, it wasn’t hard to tell that Tom Holland and Zendaya had plenty of chemistry. They spent lots of time together, promoting their movies and taking trips together with friends.

Plus, there were so-called “tell-tale” signs confirming their supposed relationship:

• Tom admitted in an interview that he was looking for a relationship. He calls himself a ‘relationship person.’ People assumed that he was referring to his relationship with Zendaya.
• Their social media relationship thrived. Zendaya and Tom Holland were unashamed of their interactions online. From tweeting to each other and tagging each other on Instagram, they were very active on social media.
• They spent plenty of time with each other. Press tours, red carpets, comic books, countries — Tom and Zendaya have seen them all together.
• Zendaya is private about her personal life. In 2017, Zendaya told Vogue that she dated someone for four years from 2012 to 2016. Fans suspected her ex-boyfriend was probably Disney actor Trevor Jackson but Zendaya never confirmed it. So, it’s most likely that if she is dating Tom, she would never talk about it — something she had been doing since they started hanging out together.
• Their chemistry is too good to be true. Tom and Zendaya have plenty of good things to say about each other. Tom never shies away in calling Zendaya a “queen” or one of his “favorite people.” Zendaya returns the favor by calling him “the very best.” Plus, apart from their on-screen chemistry, their off-screen banter is nothing but sparks. If you’ve watched their interviews, you’re no stranger to their comfortable exchanges. If we were in the world of fan fiction, Tom Holland and Zendaya would win the “friends to lovers” trope.

So, with all of these points, is it possible that Spiderman’s Zendaya and Tom Holland are together? Will they ever declare their love for each other?

The Web-Slinger Truth

Tom and Zendaya are in a relationship — but not with each other.

Currently, Tom Holland is dating Nadia Parkes, a theater actress. The Spider-Man actor reportedly spent lockdown with the actress after their relationship thrived in early 2020. When quarantine measures were rolled out, the pair decided to live together in London.

As an actress, Nadia already has a circle of celebrity friends, which is how she may have met Tom. In fact, she is close friends with Game of Thrones’ Sophie Turner, whom people think is the one who introduced Tom and Nadia to each other.

Zendaya is in a rumored relationship. Currently, she is dating her Euphoria co-star, Jacob Elordi. Like with all of her dating rumors, the actress continued to dodge the claims of her relationship but the evidence is out in the open. The Euphoria co-stars have been spotted all over the world prior to COVID-19. They were seen vacationing in Greece in August 2019 and kissing up a storm in New York last February 2020. Since the pandemic, however, the pair have been quarantining on opposite ends of the world — Elordi in Australia and Zendaya in LA.

Even though they’re not dating, Tom Holland and Zendaya share a special relationship that keeps the whole Spiderverse and universe falling in love with them. Like Harry and Hermione and other best friend ships, they’re so lovable together, you can’t help but wish they’d stay in each other’s lives forever. Their undeniable chemistry and definite friendship prove that soul mates do exist — romantically or platonically.