when did dan and phil start dating

Dan and Phil have not shared an exact “we started dating on this date” moment, but they have now said publicly that they “fell hard and fast” for each other in 2009, around the time they first started making videos together and met in person.

Quick Scoop

• Public reporting and entertainment outlets state that Dan Howell and Phil Lester have been dating since 2009 , when they first began collaborating on YouTube.

• They met online through Phil’s channel in the late 2000s, then met in person in October 2009 and quickly became very close, both personally and professionally.

• In their 2025 relationship-confirmation video and follow‑up coverage, they describe their romance as having started back in 2009 and lasting about sixteen years by the time they went public.

What They’ve Actually Confirmed

• In October 2025, they finally confirmed on their joint channel that they are in a long‑term relationship and described themselves as partners “in every aspect.”

• In that context, they explained that they “fell into it hard and fast in 2009,” which is why most outlets now frame the answer to “when did Dan and Phil start dating?” as 2009.

Why There’s Still Some Ambiguity

• For many years, they kept the romantic side of their relationship private and avoided putting an official label or start date on it in public, which is why older forum discussions often show fans debating timelines.

• So while fans sometimes speculate down to specific days or months, the only solid, on‑record information is that their relationship began sometime in 2009, around when they met and started making videos together.

TL;DR: When people ask “when did Dan and Phil start dating,” the best supported answer from their own recent statements and news coverage is: they’ve been dating since 2009.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.