From dropping hints in interviews to leaving crumbs about how they felt about each other on their Instagram accounts, fans were left intrigued yet unsure about the nature of their relationship – until last year, when paparazzi photographed them kissing in a car together.

Here’s a trip down memory lane of the friends-turned-lovers relationship.

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Tom Holland called Zendaya his “celeb crush”

During the promotion tour of 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, Holland casually mentioned Zendaya after being asked about his celebrity crush.

However, he played it coy by retracting his answer, going with Jennifer Aniston as his first star crush. This made fans suspicious, though Holland and Zendaya firmly said that they were only friends.

“We are like the best of friends. [Zendaya’s] so great and amazing,” Holland told People in 2017.

That same year, Zendaya also confirmed their platonic relationship amid growing rumours. “It happens all the time, and of course we expected it,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “I mean, it comes with the territory. It comes with the job, so it’s all good.”

In the same year, the two appeared in an epic episode of Lip Sync Battle that’s now considered iconic.

According to US Weekly in December 2017, the couple had dinner with Zendaya’s family. “Tom has met Zendaya’s family and they love him,” a source exclusively told the publication at the time.

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While still denying the relationship rumours, Holland posted a gorgeous picture of Zendaya at the 2018 Met Gala on Instagram and wrote, “All hail the queen. Killing it mate.”

The two maintained a low profile as they shot Spider-Man: Far from Home across Europe that same year. Dating rumours all but faded when Zendaya’s Euphoria co-star Jacob Elordi was caught on camera planting a kiss on her head in New York in 2020.

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But the Euphoria stars never confirmed their relationship and Elordi went on to date model Kaia Gerber.

Around the same time Holland, went Instagram official with Nadia Parks after posting a picture of her in 2020. British tabloids reported that the two even spent the first Covid-19 lockdown together in London. However, the relationship didn’t last long into the following year.

The paparazzi kiss

Fans finally rejoiced in July 2021, when the pair were spotted by paparazzi locking lips inside Holland’s car in Los Angeles.

The two were later seen at Zendaya’s mum’s residence, and the following month they were seen at a wedding in California, where they enjoyed themselves dancing and chatting with other guests.

If that was not enough, on Zendaya’s 25th birthday, 25-year-old Holland posted a sweet birthday tribute referring to her as “My MJ” and asking her to ring him up after.

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Zendaya later commented, “Calling now”, with a heart emoji. After that, it was Zendaya’s turn to show her affection, as she wrote, “My Spider-Man, I’m so proud of you,” in an Instagram post.

Harry Potter with the family

Last year, Holland sort-of opened up about his relationship to GQ without getting too specific. “I’ve always been really adamant to keep my private life private because I share so much of my life with the world anyway,” he said. “We sort of felt robbed of our privacy. I don’t think it’s about not being ready – it’s just that we didn’t want to [talk about it].”

At the premiere of Spider-Man: No Way Home last year, Holland and Zendaya – wearing striking Valentino and Prada ensembles respectively – couldn’t seem to resist each other and even held hands for a short moment.

The two were again spotted in London this year. On what looked like a coffee run, Zendaya adorably wrapped her arm around Holland’s waist as they walked the street near his home.

Zendaya was then spotted with Holland’s family at the West End play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

While neither Zendaya nor Holland has spoken about their relationship to date, they have hinted at the challenges of dating as public figures.

“The equal sentiment [we both share] is just that when you really love and care about somebody, some moments or things, you wish were your own,” Zendaya told GQ.