After years of denials, Zendaya and Tom Holland confirmed in 2021 that they are an item — and they’ve been going strong ever since.
But what took the Emmy winner and the handsome Brit so long? Check out the progression of the “Spider-Man” co-stars’ friendship-turned-romance below.
Spidey senses
Shortly after it was announced Zendaya and Holland would co-star in “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” the pair started popping up on each other’s social media pages. The actors took the above pool photo in July 2016.
The snap immediately activated fans’ Spidey senses that romance was blossoming between the two, who attended their first red carpet together the same month.
Cover stars
By November, the duo graced the cover of the Hollywood Reporter, with Zendaya calling it an “honor” to share the moment with her fellow rising star.
“Amidst all the chaos and sadness … this one good thing did happen to me today. Honored to share it with the very best … Spider-Man himself @tomholland2013 
Thank you for this beautiful cover @THR,” she wrote on Instagram at the time.
Weeks later, she shared video of their visit to a children’s hospital in New York.
Summer love?
Throughout summer 2017, Zendaya and Holland walked several red carpets together to promote “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” keeping their body language friendly in most cases.
By July, however, People published a report claiming the two were dating.
“They started seeing each other while they were filming ‘Spider-Man,’” a source said at the time. “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.
“They seem to have a really similar sense of humor and love joking around together. They have great banter back and forth,” the insider added.
Both actors denied the claims via Twitter, with Zendaya tweeting, “Wait wait … my favorite is when it says we go on vacations together HA! I haven’t been on a vacation in years! hbu?”
Holland responded, “Does the press tour count?”
Deny, deny, deny
By fall, Zendaya made it clear that she and Holland were just “friends.”
“He’s a great dude,” she told Variety in August 2017. “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.”
Meet the parents
Despite repeatedly denying that they were a couple, by December 2017, Holland was spotted hanging out with Zendaya and her parents at Bobby Van’s Central Park South, where onlookers said he “charmed her parents.”
March 2018 found the thespians attending the Oscars together. While they walked the red carpet separately, they sat next to each other during the ceremony.
‘All hail the queen’
Zendaya’s Joan of Arc-inspired Met Gala look in May 2018 prompted her “friend” to post a stunning image of her to his Instagram page, captioning the photo, “All hail the queen. Killing it mate 
.”
Birthday buddies
Zendaya returned the favor the following month when wishing her co-star a happy birthday, sharing a video of him having fun with a toy lightsaber, captioning the clip, “Happy birthday loser.”
When the “Malcolm and Marie” star’s birthday rolled around in September 2018, Holland was sure to acknowledge her as well, posting a paparazzi pic of the two alongside a Spider-Man statue.
Outed
The mother of actress Skai Jackson, a friend of Zendaya’s, soon after confirmed the pair were an item.
“Yes. It’s true. They been on the low for a while,” she wrote within the JustJared Instagram comment section at the time.
She later denied having written the comment, claiming, “Nothing posted or said was me. I could [sic] care less or know who was dating who. Please stop asking.”
Choosing to ignore the drama, the pair soon after linked up with their former co-stars to work on the franchise’s sequel “Spider-Man: Far From Home.”
“Instagram stupid”
Holland cranked up the dating whispers during the sequel’s May 2019 press run when he posted a photo of castmates and tagged Zendaya just above his crotch.
“I’m assuming because you don’t know how to work ig, that’s the reasoning behind my name placement,” she wrote with five laughing emojis, further explaining to fans that her co-star is simply “Instagram stupid.”
Holland shot down more romance rumors during a July 2019 interview with Elle and was even romantically linked to a mystery woman, whom Page Six later identified as Olivia Bolton.
Zendaya also moved on during a supposed break from the English star, getting cozy with her “Euphoria” co-star Jacob Elordi on numerous occasions between August 2019 and March 2020.
Finally confirmed
After four years of speculation, the pair were finally photographed kissing in a car in July 2021.
They were seen in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, where Zendaya’s mother, Claire Stoermer, resides.
Supporting each other
December 2021 was a busy month for the new couple, as they promoted their third film, “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”
The Disney Channel alum spoke candidly about filming the movie’s action sequences together despite their height difference.
“There’s a particular stunt where Spider-Man swings us on top of a bridge and he places me there [before] we eventually jump off of, so he’s supposed to gently rest MJ on the bridge and walk away,” she said during an appearance on “The Graham Norton Show.”
The actress added, “Because of our height difference, I would land before him [and] my feet obviously hit the ground before he does.”
Holland then chimed in, “So Zendaya would land, and I’m the superhero, I’m supposed to look cool. And I would land and my feet would swing from underneath me and then she would catch me.”
Zendaya also gave her beau a shout-out on Instagram, writing, “My Spider-Man, I’m so proud of you. Some things never change and good thing ♥️.”
A reunion in Budapest
Holland jetted from New York City to Budapest in August 2022 while Zendaya was filming “Dune: Part Two.” He took a break from filming his Apple TV+ show “The Crowded Room” to spend some time with his lady love on set.
Pre-Emmys birthday celebration
The “Euphoria” star rang in her 26th birthday at MAMO Italian Restaurant in New York’s SoHo neighborhood in September 2022. She was joined by Holland, her mother and her “Euphoria” co-star Hunter Schafer.
The outing came just one week before Zendaya took home the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series at the 2022 Emmys. She became the first black woman to win in the category twice and the youngest two-time Emmy winner in history.
Although Zendaya attended the event solo, she revealed Holland was the first person she texted after taking home the award.
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