When it comes to romantic rendezvous, Zendaya prefers to keep her cards close to her chest.

And while her private life should remain exactly that if that’s what she wants, the rumour mill goes into overdrive whenever the 24-year-old actor is spotted with a co-star.

Zendaya was last rumoured to be romantically linked to her Euphoria co-star Jacob Elordi, who went on to be connected to the likes of Kaia Gerber and Olivia Jade.
Fans first flocked to the news that she and her Spider-Man co-star, Tom Holland, are an item after the pair were spotting kissing.
And with their recent romance fresh in our minds, the time is nigh to catch-up on their on-and-off friendship-turned-relationship, from what they’ve shared themselves to moments spotted by the public.

Zendaya and Tom Holland’s Relationship Timeline

Keep scrolling for Zendaya and Tom Holland’s relationship timeline, from July 2016 to today.

JULY 2016: ZENDAYA AND TOM WERE CAST IN SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING TOGETHER

Back in 2016, Zendaya and Tom were cast alongside each other in Spider-Man: Homecoming, where not long after, they began to slowly creep into each other’s Instagrams as their friendship developed.

First up, Tom shared a photo of the two alongside another friend of theirs while enjoying a dip in the pool, with the caption, “Summer Sunday’s.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Tom Holland (@tomholland2013)

NOVEMBER 2016: ZENDAYA CALLS TOM “THE VERY BEST”

Gracing the cover of The Hollywood Reporter in red carpet-worthy ensembles, Zendaya and Tom were listed among the publication’s “Next Gen 2016”.

“Amidst all the chaos and sadness… This one good thing did happen to me today. Honoured to share it with the very best…Spider-Man himself,” she wrote in the caption.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Zendaya (@zendaya)

JULY 2017: A SOURCE CLAIMS ZENDAYA AND TOM ARE A COUPLE

Just over six months later, a source revealed to People that Zendaya and Holland had become romantically involved.

“They started seeing each other while they were filming Spider-Man,” claims the source. “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’re both really ambitious and they challenge each other,” another source claimed. “But, most importantly, they make each other crack up. They seem to have a really similar sense of humour and love joking around together. They have great banter back and forth.”

However, Zendaya seemingly shut down any speculation of a romance in the same month on Twitter, saying, “My favourite is when it says we go on vacations together HA! I haven’t been on a vacation in years! hbu @TomHolland1996 ???”

JULY 2017: TOM CONFIRMS THEY ARE FRIENDS

Not long before the premiere of Spider-Man: Homecoming on July 7, Tom revealed to People, exactly how Zendaya had helped him navigate the spotlight.

“We are like the best of friends. She’s so great and amazing,” he said. “I’m a little worried [about dealing with fame … but] Zendaya is super famous and she’s been through this and I just call her up and say, ‘How do I manage being famous?’ I’m very glad I have a friend like her.”

AUGUST 2017: ZENDAYA REVEALS SHE IS NOT DATING TOM

Come August of the same year, the Euphoria star revealed to Variety that she and Tom were not dating and were simply friends.

“We are friends,” she explained. “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.”

After confirming their friendship, the two remained close for months to come, particularly after Tom celebrated Zendaya’s debut at the Met Gala in May 2018, that saw him share a photo of her dressed as Joan of Arc on the red carpet.

“All hail the queen. Killing it mate,” he wrote in the caption.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Tom Holland (@tomholland2013)

May 2019: RUMOURS SWIRL OF ROMANCE BETWEEN ZENDAYA AND TOM AFTER AN INSTAGRAM TAG

The next year, fans who were still stuck on their romantic bandwagon received a treat in the form of an misplaced Instagram tag.

After sharing a photo of himself, Zendaya and their Spider-Man co-star, Jacob Batalon, at Disneyland to promote their film, Tom accidentally placed Zendaya’s tag in a rather cheeky spot.

Once fans noticed the placement, rumours took off and left Zendaya to comment on the post, saying, “I’m assuming because you don’t know how to work IG, that’s the reasoning behind my name placement.”

In a moment caught by Comments By Celebs, Tom replied to Zendaya’s comment, writing, “Thanks @zendaya for making me aware of my obvious blunder” before fixing the tag.

FEBRUARY 2021: TOM CREDITS ZENDAYA FOR HELPING HIM BE MORE COMFORTABLE IN THE PUBLIC EYE

In an interview with British GQ, Tom spoke about how he has learned to handle fame, praising Zendaya for helping him “a lot” whenever he used to unintentionally “come across sometimes as a bit of a d— to fans.”

According to Tom, Zendaya “totally changed the way I am able to be more comfortable in public,” adding how particularly “frustrating” it can be to have relationships play out in the spotlight.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Tom Holland (@tomholland2013)

“It’s very nerve-racking. It means that if you are dating someone, you have to be really conscious of their feelings, because if something does happen between the two of you, it’s not just happening between the two of you, it’s happening in front of the entire world,” he said. “It’s one of the things I worry about most, of all the things in my career.”

In the interview, he also spoke about that Instagram “mishap” and whether it bothered him how fans and the media insinuated he’s romantically involved with his co-stars: “You mean, because I tagged Zendaya over my groin in an Instagram post? That was so funny; it was obviously a mistake.”

JULY 2021: TOM AND ZENDAYA ARE SPOTTED KISSING

After years of rumoured romances and endless interviews explaining that their relationship was nothing more than a friendship, the pair were spotted kissing on July 2, 2021, in photographs obtained by Page Six.

Right before the United States’ Fourth of July weekend, Tom and Zendaya were photographed sharing a smooch as they waited at a red light in a car Tom was driving.

As for the nature of their PDA, neither have commented on the photographs. But naturally, the internet has collectively lost its mind, taking to Twitter to share their elation over the news.

AUGUST 2021: ZENDAYA AND TOM ATTEND A WEDDING TOGETHER

After going public with their relationship, the pair were pictured at a friends wedding, and yes, they looked very happy together.

It comes after several months of speculation and rumours surrounding the couple after they were pictured kissing while waiting at a traffic light on the Fourth Of July Weekend.

The happy coupled looked full of joy. Do we hear wedding bells?

 

Instagram

SEPTEMBER 2021: TOM SHARES DOTING INSTAGRAM TRIBUTE IN HONOUR OF ZENDAYA’S BIRTHDAY

In the sweetest of birthday tributes, Tom took to Instagram to wish Zendaya a happy 25th birthday.

The message read “My MJ, have the happiest of birthdays. Gimme a call when your up xxx”, setting our hearts ablaze.

Zendaya had the perfect response, commenting “Calling now ♥️”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Tom Holland (@tomholland2013)

DECEMBER 2021: ZENDAYA AND TOM ATTEND THE SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME LONDON PREMIERE TOGETHER

Zendaya and Tom are the definition of couple goals at the Spider-Man: No Way Home London premiere.

While this may the be the third Marvel blockbuster the pair has starred in together, it’s the first time the couple have attended a premiere publicly as a couple. Honestly? We can’t wait to see what else the stylish-couple have in store for us.

 

Getty Images

DECEMBER 2021: ZENDAYA AND TOM CONTINUE THEIR PRESS TOUR IN LOS ANGELES

Just when we thought the pair couldn’t get any more cute, or chic, we were proven wrong.

Cementing themselves as a Hollywood power couple, the lovebirds stepped out at the Los Angeles premiere of Spider-Man: No Way Home and our jaws are on the floor.

Zendaya donned a custom Valentino haute couture dress, complete with spider web embroidery and avant-garde headpiece, while Tom opted for a custom Prada suit.

Getty Images

DECEMBER 2021: ZENDAYA SHARES RARE SNAP OF TOM WITH THE SWEETEST CAPTION

Celebrating the launch of their new film Spider-Man: No Way Home, Zendaya shared the cutest never-before-seen snaps of Tom with the cutest caption ever. Just when we thought Tom’s birthday tribute for Zendaya was enough to melt our hearts, Zendaya upped the ante with this sweet tribute.

The caption read, “my Spider-Man, I’m so proud of you, some things never change and good thing♥️”. In case you didn’t get the caption, the second image is of a young Tom Holland dressed in a Spider-Man costume. We’re not crying, we swear.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Zendaya (@zendaya)

February 2022: Tom and Zendaya Cement Their Status As A Power Couple During NYC Date Night

Getty Images

Stepping out for a date-night in New York, Tom and Zendaya cement their status as a power couple by breaking the internet.

Not only is Zendaya’s hair defying gravity—just look at that bounce and volume—but fans seem to think that Queen Z is wearing Tom’s button up shirt as a dress.

If this isn’t the definition of a shared wardrobe than we don’t know what is.

May 2022: Zendaya Shares The Sweetest Birthday Tribute For Tom Holland

While we thought Tom’s birthday post for Zendaya on her 25th birthday just about broke the internet, we had no clue that Zendaya would return the favour with the sweetest tribute that proves real love exist.

Zendaya took to Instagram to share a rare black-and-white photo of the couple with a caption that could melt the heart of anyone.

“Happiest of birthdays to the one who makes me the happiest <3,” wrote Zendaya. We can’t wait to see what next year’s tribute has in store.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Zendaya (@zendaya)

August 2022: Tom Flies 7000kms To Be With Zendaya In Budapest

It’s clear by now that Tom is quite the romantic. And to prove that, he travelled over 7,000kms from New York City to Budapest just to visit Zendaya, who’s been filming the Dune sequel.

Amidst the controversy of A-list stars overusing their private jets and contributing extreme levels of fossil fuels to the environment, Tom opted to take a commercial flight to see Zendaya, where he was seen doing a spot of knitting on the flight.

Once there, he and the Euphoria star were later spotted sightseeing in the city by several fans. However, flying all that way didn’t mean a holiday for Tom, who is filming The Crowded Room in New York, meaning that he’ll be flying the 7,000kms back.

“So Tom really did fly all the way from New York to Budapest to be with Z (she’s filming there for Dune),” a fan wrote on Twitter, posting a video of the pair sightseeing.

What we’ve learned from Tom’s chivalrous actions is that Hollywood could learn a thing or two about this eco-warrior.

More from Culture