Zendaya Just Adorably Shouted Out Tom Holland’s Rizz

Let’s give another round of applause to Marvel. In March 2016, Zendaya was cast as MJ — also known as Mary Jane Watson — in the rebooted Spider-Man franchise. Meanwhile, Holland reportedly landed his role as Peter Parker in 2015 and debuted his web-slinging powers that following year. Months after filming wrapped up, the two stars showed off their chemistry several times.

They were all smiles while attending Comic Con in July 2016, as seen above. That same month, Tom posted a sweet photo of him and Zendaya enjoying the summer weather on Instagram. Four months later, Zendaya praised Tom while sharing their Hollywood Reporter cover. “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,” she wrote on Instagram.

Before the film was released in July 2017, the two served up major costar goals on the Spider-Man press tour. Whether on the blue carpet, in interviews, or as surprise guests on TV (ahem, their joint appearance on Lip Sync Battle in May of that year), it’s clear their friendship was meant to be.

Their infectious friendship hit a new peak. In an interview with People that year, Holland marveled (no pun intended) over his connection with Zendaya. “We are like the best of friends. She’s so great and amazing,” he said at the time, adding he learned how to handle fame from Zendaya. “I just call her up and say, ‘How do I manage being famous?’ I’m very glad I have a friend like her.” BRB, currently sobbing.

It wasn’t long until dating rumors began to follow them. The duo became aware of them, and they denied the speculations in a lighthearted way. That same month, Tom and Zendaya responded to a now-deleted tweet that suggested they “went on vacation together.” Tom joked, “Does the [Spider-man] press tour count?”

There’s no better way to shut down romance rumors than to date other people. In 2019, Zendaya started her stint as the memorable Rue in HBO’s Euphoria. She also reportedly began dating her costar Jacob Elordi, who plays Nate Jacobs in the series.

According to People, the two were “cozy” at the American Australian Arts Awards dinner in January 2020. That following month, they were seen kissing during an outing in New York City. After a few more public PDAs and a couple of trips, the duo quietly called it quits in 2020. In September of that year, Elordi began dating Kaia Gerber.

Tom also bypassed the rumored Zendaya romance. In July 2020, the actor hard-launched his relationship with British actress Nadia Parkes on Instagram. According to the Daily Mail, the two reportedly quarantined together during the early days of the pandemic. It’s not exactly clear when the couple split; however, this next moment in the timeline ensured that Tom had moved on.

It was the kiss seen around the world — well, Hollywood, at least. That summer, the costars were photographed having a PDA-filled moment in Los Angeles, reigniting those dating rumors from the early days of their friendship.

While the rumored couple remained tight-lipped about their romance, that didn’t stop them from publicly hanging out. The following month after their kiss, Zendaya and Tom attended a friend’s wedding together.

After two months of silence, Tom seemingly hard-launched his relationship with Zendaya on Instagram. On Sept. 1, heshared a sweet behind-the-scenes photo of him and Zendaya for her 25th birthday. “My MJ, have the happiest of birthdays. Gimme a call when you’re up,” he wrote on the post, which features the then-birthday girl taking a photo of him in the mirror.

Similar to their 2017 press run, their excursion for 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home was just as iconic. The two were seen photographed together on many occasions, including when Zendaya wore her custom spider dress. Though MJ isn’t a glam girl, her Marvel character would certainly approve of this look.

If their carpet interactions don’t warm your heart, then their rare Instagram shoutouts will do the trick. On June 1, Zendaya honored Tom’s birthday with a sweet post. “Happiest of birthdays to the one who makes me the happiest," she wrote, featuring a photo of her and Tom embracing one another. S’cute!

That same month, the couple also endured some pregnancy rumors. According to The Cut, the pregnancy rumor started after a TikTok of an ultrasound that was photoshopped on Zendaya’s Instagram went viral. The singer-actor shut down the speculation on her Instagram Stories. “See now, this is why I stay off Twitter," she wrote. “Just making stuff up for no reason… weekly.”

That wasn’t the only rumor that plagued Zendaya and Tom’s relationship. In September, speculation arose the two were engaged after Zendaya posted a mirror selfie on her Instagram Stories. In the photo, the Euphoria star showed off her Golden State Warriors hat; however, many fans couldn’t help but notice the pearl ring on her finger. With a playful quickness, Zendaya cleared up the rumors in a since-deleted Stories.

“I can’t post anything, you guys. I posted it for my hat. Like, not for the ring on my right finger, you guys. Seriously, you think that’s how I would drop the news? You think? Like, what?” She said in the video, holding back her laughter.

Ever since Zendaya denounced the engagement rumors, she and Tom have been fairly quiet. However, she recently lifted the veil on their relationship again, and this might be the sweetest moment to exist. In a Feb. 22 interview with Buzzfeed, the actor was asked which of her Dune co-stars has “the most rizz.”

After jokingly saying it was her, she shouted out a special person who fits the category: Tom. “I think someone who has beautiful charisma, not on the Dune cast, but I personally—worked for me—is Mr. Tom Holland,” she said. “I’m more shy and kind of quiet, so it takes a little bit more to pull me out of my shell. But he’s great at talking to people and getting to know people. He’s got that natural gift.”