A few things are canon in the live-action “Spider-Man” universe: Peter Parker has been bitten by a radioactive spider, the actor playing Peter will ugly-cry at some point onscreen — and the romantic leads will inevitably fall in love behind the scenes.
Case in point: Two generations of “Spider-Man” co-stars (Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone) have been in highly publicized relationships that have already come and gone. But one Spidey couple remains: Tom Holland and Zendaya, known affectionately by fans as “Tomdaya.”
Much to the internet’s delight, Holland, 27, and Zendaya, 26, have evolved over the years from cast-mates to friends to partners. And although the pair didn’t confirm their relationship until relatively late in their “Spider-Man” careers, fans’ Spidey senses have been tingling since the actors began working together in the mid-2010s.
In fact, a recently resurfaced, early gem of a social-media interaction between Holland and Zendaya has further convinced the stans that the co-stars were crushing on each other from the start. (Why else would Zendaya jokingly comment, “I hate you,” along with three laughing emojis and three crying emojis, under a 2017 Instagram post from Holland that really isn’t that funny?)
For more evidence, please see our definitive Tomdaya timeline — from “Spider-Man: Homecoming” to “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and beyond.
March 2016: Zendaya joins the cast of ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’
Taking it back to where it all began, Zendaya was cast opposite Holland in a “key role in the ensemble” of “Homecoming” — the first film in Marvel’s latest live-action “Spider-Man” trilogy. Holland was relatively unknown at the time, while Zendaya was at the height of her Disney Channel fame.
Not much information was available at the time about Zendaya’s character, Michelle, but Deadline reported that she likely wouldn’t be Spidey’s love interest because her name wasn’t Gwen or Mary Jane. Deadline was right (sort of).
July 2017: ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ opens in theaters
Leading up to the summer release of “Homecoming,” Zendaya and Holland embarked on their first Hollywood press tour together. Despite playing nothing more than platonic classmates onscreen (Laura Harrier was eventually cast as Peter Parker’s crush in the flagship film), the pair immediately sparked dating rumors with their palpable off-screen chemistry.
Between their famous episode of “Lip Sync Battle” (you know the one) and Holland outright identifying Zendaya as his childhood celebrity crush during a press junket, fans were all but certain something was going on behind the scenes.
August 2017: Zendaya quashes rumors
Zendaya, however, was not entertaining the gossip. When asked by Variety about a rumored romance brewing between her and Holland, the “Shake It Up” alum said she was setting the record straight.
“We are friends,” she said at the time.
“He’s a great dude. He’s literally one of my best friends. This past how many months we’ve had to do press tours together. There’s very few people that will understand what that’s like at 20 years old.”
June 2019: ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ opens
When the next installment in their Spidey saga, “Far From Home,” came out two summers later, Zendaya and Holland went from “best friends” playing platonic classmates to “best friends” playing romantic leads. (Turns out Michelle from the movies and Mary Jane from the comics had more in common than their nickname, MJ.)
You know what that means…
This critical development — culminating in the actors’ first onscreen kiss — naturally renewed speculation about their off-screen relationship. But nothing appeared to have changed on that front as far as anyone could tell. Until…
July 2021: Zendaya and Holland photographed k-i-s-s-i-n-g
On July 2, 2021, the kiss seen ‘round the world was caught by a photographer spying into a car in Los Angeles.
The photos — published in various tabloids, including Page Six — nearly broke the internet. Holland and Zendaya had fulfilled their Spidey destiny. And all the fans who had long rooted for the co-stars to just kiss already finally got their wish.
September 2021: Holland calls Zendaya ‘My MJ’
In case there were any lingering doubts about the actors’ relationship status, Holland doubled down on his semi-public display of affection for Zendaya with a 2021 birthday post to the “Euphoria” star.
The Instagram post included a mirror selfie of the couple (with Holland in costume as Spider-Man) and a heartfelt caption referring to Zendaya as “My MJ” — which sent social media into a frenzy.
Zendaya later responded by posting a photo of Holland and calling him “My Spider-Man” just before the final film in the trilogy, “No Way Home,” opened in theaters.
December 2021: ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ opens in theaters; Tomdaya makes its red-carpet debut
By the time “No Way Home” arrived in theaters, Holland and Zendaya were officially an item both on- and off-screen. They made their first red carpet appearance as a couple at the blockbuster’s London premiere on Dec. 5, 2021.
Supercharged by the internet’s obsession with their red carpet-official relationship, the “No Way Home” press tour included some of Holland and Zendaya’s most viral moments yet: From critiquing each other’s cooking habits in a press junket interview to demonstrating how their height difference complicated stunts on “The Graham Norton Show.”
June 2022: Zendaya shuts down pregnancy rumors
After a meddling TikTok user pranked fans by sharing a fake Instagram post manufactured to look like Zendaya had announced that she and Holland were expecting a baby, the Emmy winner took to her real Instagram account to clear things up.
“See now, this is why I stay off Twitter,” she wrote. “Just making stuff up for no reason…weekly.”
May 2023: Tomdaya goes to the Lakers-Warriors game
During a rare public date, Tomdaya was spotted in the crowd at an NBA playoff game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors. Stars, they’re just like us — but with better seats.
June 2023: Tomdaya rocks out to Beyoncé
Holland and Zendaya were still going strong as of June 2023, when the couple was filmed jamming to “Love on Top” at a Beyoncé concert in Warsaw.
In viral footage, Holland and Zendaya can be seen dancing and singing the chorus of the classic song (“Baby it’s you / You’re the one I love / You’re the one I need / You’re the only one I see”) to each other with giant smiles on their faces.
“If we ain’t vibin’ like this, I don’t want it,” one person commented on TikTok.
“This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” another person wrote.
Summer 2023: Strikes delay fourth ‘Spider-Man’ film
Good news and bad news for Tomdaya and Marvel enthusiasts: “Spider-Man” producer Amy Pascal recently confirmed to Variety that another movie starring Holland as Peter and Zendaya as MJ is in the works at Sony, However, development has been paused because of the ongoing Hollywood writers’ strike.
“We’re in the process, but … nobody is working during the strike,” she said. “We’re all being supporters and whenever they get themselves together, we’ll get started.”
