If you've seen Spider-Man: Homecoming, then you know two of the movie's stars, Tom Holland and Zendaya, have a rather interesting dynamic. They're ~friends~ if you will, since Z's character Michelle — or MJ as she likes to be called — doesn't really have too many friends but at the end of the movie when Peter's crush moves away and MJ becomes the captain of the decathlon team they're both on, it's clear their relationship is for sure going to grow in the sequel. She does give him a bit of a lingering, slightly confused look at the end when he runs off to the bathroom to you know, deal with superhero stuff she has no idea about, so sparks are brewing. They just have this chemistry between them and IRL, Z and Tom are just as close. So close in fact that dating rumors started to swirl these two are more than friends.
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They've been known to roast each other on Twitter and Instagram, proving they have the same type of humor that gives off major BFF vibes. Then, a source supposedly close to the pair came forward and said these two have indeed been secretly dating for quite some time, even saying they have gone on lavish vacations together. The K.C. Undercover starlet saw this on Twitter and made a joke about it all, pretty much saying they never went on any romantic trips of the sort.
Wait wait…my favorite is when it says we go on vacations together HA! I haven't been on a vacation in years!😂😭🤣hbu @TomHolland1996 ??? https://t.co/zSkvcfzzTa
— Zendaya (@Zendaya) July 13, 2017
And Tom thought it was all quite laughable too. "@Zendaya Does the press tour count ??," he tweeted back.
@Zendaya Does the press tour count 😂😝 https://t.co/2WsstZPyde
— Tom Holland (@TomHolland1996) July 13, 2017
BUT, they technically didn't flat out deny anything, so there was still a glimmer of hope love could be in the air for them after all. Well, Zendaya has shut it all down once again, hopefully for the last time ever, in a new interview with Variety.
"We are friends. No," she firmly said when asked about this supposed romance. "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."
There it is, straight out of Z's mouth, in her own words. They're just friends, nothing more. She spoke about the rumors and why she felt it was time to squash them and what dating for her is really like to Entertainment Tonight when they caught up with her on the red carpet at Variety's Young Hollywood event.
"I mean it happens all the time and of course, we expected it. It comes with the territory, it comes with the job, it's all good!" Zendaya said. "It's hard to date at any age, it doesn't matter where you are either. It's just hard to date in general and sometimes it's hard to find people you really click with or really understand you and add on top of the fact that my lifestyle is very different. So it's tough, but I'm chilling."
Well, our shipping hearts might be a tad bit broken, but knowing they are such buds is a comfort. The starlet went on to say that when she was in the audition phase before snagging the role in Spider-Man, she had to go in and do a chemistry read with Tom, since he already had his role. They basically had to perform a scene together in front of the people who were in charge of casting, so obviously a nerve-racking time. Zendaya was a bit worried about how it would all go down because Tom is shorter than her!
"He says when we first met it was super awkward because he went for a handshake and I went for a hug. But I don’t remember that. I thought it was cool," she explained. "I was worried because he’s so much shorter than me. I was like, 'Damn it! It’s going to be weird because I’m super tall.' But then we ended up doing the audition sitting. So that was good."
She is 5'10" and Tom comes in at 5'8" which is only two inches shorter but for sure is noticeable when you're standing directly across from each other. But the rest is history as they say since she ended up securing the role of Michelle and they got over any initial awkwardness there might've been. They're as close as ever now.
So no off-screen love story here and since Zendaya did have a boyfriend for years she kept out of the spotlight, we might not ever know if and when she falls in love with someone. She keeps her personal life as private as she possibly can, so don't expect and public displays of affection anytime soon.
RELATED: Zendaya and Tom Holland Go On the Most Unromantic Drive Ever Together
This post was originally published on August 8, 2017 and has since been updated.
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