This Zendaya & Bella Friendship Update Will Make 'Shake It Up' Fans Smile
Zendaya and Bella Thorne are two of the most well-known names in Hollywood, and while the former co-stars are on different career paths in 2020, they started in the same place: on Disney Channel's Shake It Up. Zendaya and Thorne played best friends pursuing their dreams of stardom on the show. The pair's adorable on-screen friendship proved to be real off-screen, too. However, it's been seven years since the show ended, and you might wonder if Zendaya and Bella Thorne are still friends after all this time? Well, here's the update you've been waiting for.
Even though, Zendaya and Thorne looked super close on the show that ran from 2010 to 2013, their friendship off screen wasn't always so solid. Turns out, they weren't BFFs from the get-go. In a February 2017 interview with J-14, Thorne revealed she and Zendaya were often pitted against each other, which caused them to start off on the wrong foot.
“Zendaya and I were put in a very unfortunate position where we were kind of forced to compete against each other [during Shake It Up], which made the whole first season of the show just very awkward for us,” Thorne said. “We wanted to love each other, but yet we were constantly being put against each other. It was, ‘Who’s better at this?’ and ‘Who’s better at that?'”
However, they eventually talked it out and became super close.
“And then, second season, we kind of just had this tell-all talk where we started crying and really just put everything out there on the table, and that’s when we became best friends," Thorne said.
Even after the show ended in November 2013, and Zendaya and Thorne moved on to pursue other projects, they remained close friends. They could even be spotted hanging out together at major Hollywood events, including the premieres of Thorne's movies Blended in May 2014 and Alexander And The No Good Very Bad Day in October 2014.
While the on-and-off-screen besties' real-life hang sessions don't happen often because of their busy schedules, they're epic when they do come along. For example, the girls hung out in February 2016, and Thorne documented it on Snapchat. Here's video of Thorne being an absolute BFF and trolling Zendaya's terrible parallel parking job.
Despite their busy schedules, Thorne told J-14 in February 2017 that she and her former co-star were still in contact.
"We text each other all the time, and we’re always sending photos back and forth,” Thorne said.
It's hard to tell just how often Zendaya and Thorne touch base privately, but they definitely still show each other love on social media on the regular. They always have each other's back.
In February 2018, Seventeen Mexico tweeted a side-by-side comparison of Zendaya and Thorne in red lipstick, asking their followers who wore it better with the hashtag #beautybattle. Thorne got wind and settled the score, while also sending love to Zendaya.
"Beauty battle? That’s not right. Damn it’s been years and people still wanna pin us against each other in some way. :( love you z," Thorne tweeted.
In June 2019, Zendaya also showed Thorne lots of love after her former co-star found herself in the middle of a nude photo controversy.
When Thorne released her own nude photos after a hacker threatened to leak them, The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg condemned Thorne for taking the photos in the first place. Thorne responded with a tearful video, and many A-listers came to her defense, including Zendaya.
In a screenshot of their text message exchange, Zendaya said Thorne's video broke her heart, before adding how proud she was of Thorne.
"You are strong and courageous and beautiful inside and out,” Zendaya wrote. “You’re a light and I’m proud of you. Love you.”
Zendaya and Thorne may not see each other every day, but they clearly still share a tight bond in 2020. They support each other and encourage each other, even if it is from afar. If that's not real friendship, then I don't know what is.
