Zendaya & Tom Holland Prove The Best Relationships Start As Friendships First
Zendaya and Tom Holland have been dating since at least 2021, but there are rumors they have been dating even longer. Can you believe they have been together officially for almost five years? Crazy. And what good good example of how a friendship can grow into love.
Zendaya and Holland first met in 2016 while filming Spider-Man: Homecoming. Before the film’s premiere, Holland discussed his close friendship with his costar. As he told People of Zendaya, “We are like the best of friends. She’s so great and amazing.”
During the film’s press tour in 2017, people began to speculate that the two were dating. Holland and Zendaya shut those rumors down with a humorous Twitter exchange:
Over the next couple of years, Zendaya and Holland remained close friends. Holland even posted a photo of Zendaya on his Instagram in 2018 of her Met Gala look with the caption “All hail the queen. Killing it mate.”
The two were also romantically linked with others, Zendaya with her Euphoria costar Jacob Elordi and Holland with Nadia Parks. Then in 2021, Holland and Zendaya were photographed kissing in Holland’s car in Los Angeles and the rest, as they say, is history.
Zendaya and Holland’s relationship is so strong because it was created on the foundation of friendship first. The reason this matters so much is that this helped them build trust and respect, two elements that are absolutely crucial for a healthy partnership, before they even considered becoming romantically involved.
Not to mention, being friends before jumping into a romantic relationship gives you the time to truly get to know each other. It gives you both the chance to learn about each other’s quirks, pasts, triggers, bad habits, strengths, and communication styles. Friendship gives you the opportunity to know one another on a deeper, more authentic level that might take longer to reach if you simply started dating first instead.
After all, when you first start seeing someone, your walls are up because you’re terrified of heartbreak. You don’t want to show all of yourself too soon because you’re afraid they won’t like what they see. But if you started as friends first, you skip this phase because you feel free to be who you are. So if it does turn romantic, you are choosing each other based on who you both actually are, not based on projections or wishful thinking.
Being friends with someone means you’re there through the good times and the bad. Being friends means you trust, understand, and value each other. Being friends means you have a blast when you’re with one another. Being friends means you’re in this life together. If you start with that foundation and you also have romantic chemistry, then love has no choice but to grow. It just might take some time for you to recognize it. And that’s okay.
Your person should be your best friend, but you’re lucky if you started that way first.