Zendaya didn’t just wear a stunning diamond ring to the 2025 Met Gala.
She wore her engagement ring to the May 5 fashion extravaganza.
Fiancé Tom Holland didn’t join her at the event (though he was there for the getting ready earlier in the evening), nor was he at the Golden Globes in January, where she debuted her bauble.
But while her nomination for her performance in Challengers made for a momentous night, Holland stays in the deep background on such occasions because he prefers all eyes to be on her when she’s deservedly in the spotlight.
Not to mention, he had already put a ring on his longtime love over the holiday. “He had spoken with her father and gained permission to propose to his daughter,” Zendaya’s future father-in-law Dominic Holland wrote in a Jan. 10 Patreon post. “Tom had everything planned out… When, where, how, what to say, what to wear…”
With that, Spider-Man—as the Euphoria star’s friends call him—swung into action. And she said yes.
Zendaya did say long ago that having a significant other in show business, someone who gets what her day-to-day is like, was a nice perk. And her day-to-day has only become more hectic since.
“It’s definitely helpful,” the Euphoria star told Cardi B in a 2018 chat for CR Fashion Book. “There’s just certain things in our lives that’s hard for people to understand if they don’t live it. Like if I have to explain what a call time is or why I have to start glam early. I’m not just sitting around all day.”
Suffice it to say, they’ve come a long way since their first chemistry read.
“He says when we first met it was super awkward because he went for a handshake and I went for a hug,” Zendaya told Variety in 2017. “But I don’t remember that. I thought it was cool.”
Though she admittedly had her concerns.
“I was worried because he’s so much shorter than me,” Zendaya, who’s reportedly 5-foot-10, said of her 5-foot-6 (and a half) leading man. “I was like, ‘Damn it! It’s going to be weird because I’m super tall.’ But then we ended up doing the audition sitting. So that was good.”
The 28-year-old and Holland, who’s turning 29 on June 1, may have started out as costars braving the Marvel Cinematic Universe together.
But fast-forward through their epic Lip Sync Battle faceoff in 2017 and 2019’s Spider-Man: Far from Home, and they were far from just friends by the time the third movie, Spider-Man: No Way Home, hit theaters in December 2021.
And almost four years after they proved that all the chemistry radiating from the screen was the real deal, Zendaya said yes to making a home together.
Not that it was always obvious, there being a short period of time where breakup rumors filled the void between sightings.
However, Zendaya—who was in London last summer supporting Holland during his starring run on the West End in Romeo & Juliet—doesn’t believe that a couple has to be joined at the hip.
“A healthy relationship does not mean you need to be with that person 24/7,” she noted in a January 2017 blog post titled “How I Survived a Broken Heart.”
That’s right, once upon a time there was some guy who broke up with Zendaya after four years together and, in her words, “It wasn’t a good ending.”
But, as she told Vogue in 2017, “You know you’re OK in a breakup when your first thought is not, What did I do wrong? It’s, That was the dumbest decision of your life, and you’re going to regret it forever.”
Which is most likely the case for that guy.
Better yet, though, the split paved the way for her best friend and costar to swoop in and prove himself.
“With anybody you’re with,” Zendaya told Cardi B, “you have to have a layer of respect, courtesy, understanding, and tolerance. It’s also important to have somebody who makes you laugh. If someone can’t make me laugh, then that’s wack. And not just kind of laugh, but pee-my-pants laugh.”
She expanded upon what she valued in a person in February 2021, about five months before she and Holland (whose father is a stand-up comedian, FWIW) went public.
“‘Kindness’ is kind of not the best way to describe it,” the Dune star told Vanity Fair, “but some people are just good people, and you can just feel it.” Ultimately, she concluded, “There’s this little spark they have, or this little special thing that they have, that just you feel safe and happy around them. I don’t know what that is, but some people have it, and it’s special.'”
While Zendaya and Holland hadn’t wanted to publicly share their spark for each other just yet, they found themselves forced to do so after the paparazzi photographed them kissing in a car in July 2021.
“One of the downsides of our fame is that privacy isn’t really in our control anymore, and a moment that you think is between two people that love each other very much is now a moment that is shared with the entire world,” the English actor told GQ in a cover story published four months later, adding, “I’ve always been really adamant to keep my private life private, because I share so much of my life with the world anyway. We sort of felt robbed of our privacy.”
Zendaya agreed all the attention can be “quite strange and weird and confusing and invasive.”
“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.…” she continued. “I think loving someone is a sacred thing and a special thing and something that you want to deal with and go through and experience and enjoy amongst the two people that love each other.”
And like Zendaya, Holland appreciates having a partner who understands the particularities of their chosen professions.
“I’m lucky that I have someone like Zendaya in my life,” the English actor said on a July 2023 episode of Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett‘s Smartless podcast. “It’s interesting being in a romantic relationship with someone that is in the same boat as you.”
He added, “You can share your experiences and all that sort of stuff—and that’s worth its weight in gold.”
Speaking of precious metals, ring watchers were impatient to find out whether the two were, in fact, endgame, but Holland and Zendaya kept as much of their relationship to themselves as possible, while also amiably acknowledging they were a thing.
“Our relationship is something that we are incredibly protective of and we want to keep as sacred as possible,” Holland told The Hollywood Reporter in June 2023. “We don’t think that we owe it to anyone, it’s our thing, and it has nothing to do with our careers.”
Zendaya concurred, telling Elle around the same time, “Parts of my life, I accept, are going to be public. I can’t not be a person and live my life and love the person I love. But also, I do have control over what I choose to share.”
And choosing what to share includes deciding when they want to appear on red carpets together, hence Zendaya attending the 2025 Golden Globes solo.
“It’s not my moment, it’s her moment,” Holland recently explained to Men’s Health about attending her work events, “and if we go together, it’s about us.”
They’ve said it all for now. But since pictures can be worth a thousand words, go ahead and marvel at Zendaya and Holland’s romance in photos:
July 2016: Comic-Con Fun
Tom Holland and Zendaya shared a laugh during the Marvel panel event at San Diego Comic-Con International 2016 in San Diego, Calif, ahead of the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming.
May 2017: MTV Movie & TV Awards
The Spider-Man: Homecoming stars spoke onstage at the award show in Los Angeles.
June 2017: Promoting in Spain
Tom and Zendaya attended a photo call for Spider-Man: Homecoming in Madrid.
June 2019: Par-tay
The duo appeared at the after-party for the premiere of Spider-Man: Far From Home in Hollywood, Calif.
September 2021: Birthday Shoutout
Months after their romance was confirmed, Tom gushed over his onscreen and offscreen girlfriend.
“My MJ, have the happiest of birthdays,” he wrote, referring to Zendaya by her character’s name, in his Sept. 1 post. “Gimme a call when your up xxx”
December 2021: Back to London
The two attended a photo call for Spider-Man: No Way Home at The Old Sessions House in London.
December 2021: Promoting Spider-Man: No Way Home
Tom and Zendaya spoke during SiriusXM Radio’s Town Hall with the cast of Spider-Man: No Way Home in New York City.
December 2021: Spider-Man: No Way Home Premiere in L.A.
The actress, in a custom Valentino gown, and Tom, in a Prada suit, posed for pictures at the premiere of Spider-Man: No Way Home in Los Angeles.
December 2021: Celebrating a Dream Fulfilled
After their third Spider-Man film hit theaters, Zendaya heaped praise over her leading man.
“My Spider-Man, I’m so proud of you,” she gushed, “some things never change and good thing @tomholland2013.”
February 2022: Taking in a New York Minute
The duo dressed to impress as they enjoyed a belated Valentine’s Day night on the town in NYC Feb. 16.
June 2023: Tom’s 27th Birthday
Zendaya shared this sweet shot of her boyfriend enjoying the water in honor of his birthday.
June 2023: Tom’s “Sexiest” Pic Ever
Tom unveiled this beauty for his 27th birthday, joking on Instagram, “A gift from me to you. I thought I’d share possibly the sexiest picture ever taken of me!” Zendaya was into it, reacting with a heart-eye emoji.
March 2024: Acing a Tennis Date
Zendaya channeled her inner Tashi Duncan ahead of her movie Challengers‘ release during a tennis outing with Tom and her longtime assistant Darnell Appling at the Men’s Final of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif.
April 2024: All Smiles
The two enjoyed a night out in London.
May 2024: In Fair Verona
Zendaya supported Tom after the debut of his play Romeo and Juliet in London, where the pair were seen holding hands following the show.
October 2024: Bero Launch Party
As Tom debuted his non-alcoholic beer company, Bero, Zendaya was by his side in a coordinating burgundy look.
November 2024: Low Key Date Night
While visiting Zendaya in Newbury, Massachusetts, where Zendaya was filming her movie The Drama, the duo popped out for a pint of Bero.
“I’m heading out to a bar to have my first Bero in the wild,” Tom, wrote on is Instagram story alongside a shot of his longtime girlfriend smiling in the background. “I’ll let you know how it goes.”
This story was originally published Sept. 1, 2024 at 7:00 a.m. PT.
