Zendaya and Tom Holland are widely considered to have started dating in mid‑2021, when paparazzi photos of them kissing in a car were published and their relationship essentially went public. They first met and became close while filming Spider‑Man: Homecoming in 2016, but both consistently described each other as friends for several years before that.

Quick scoop

  • The question “when did Zendaya and Tom Holland start dating” is usually answered with July 2021 , when those car‑kiss photos in Los Angeles were released and fans took it as confirmation they were a couple.
  • Before that, from about 2016–2020, they sparked ongoing dating rumors while promoting the Spider‑Man films but publicly denied being more than friends.
  • By late 2021, they were openly more affectionate in interviews and on social media, and major outlets described them as officially dating rather than just rumored.

A bit of timeline context

  • 2016–2017 : Zendaya and Tom meet on the set of Spider‑Man: Homecoming and start appearing together in press tours and red‑carpet photos, calling each other close friends.
  • 2017–2019 : Multiple outlets and fans speculate that they are secretly dating, but they both joke about or deny the rumors in interviews.
  • 2019–2020 : Each is reported to be seeing other people (Zendaya with Jacob Elordi, Tom with Nadia Parkes), which cools the dating speculation for a while.

When it became “official” to the public

  • July 2021 : Paparazzi capture them kissing in a car in Los Angeles; this moment is widely treated in entertainment media as the point when they “went public” and when they effectively started dating in the public eye.
  • After that, birthday posts, joint appearances, and affectionate comments in interviews reinforce that they are in a romantic relationship, even though they still keep many details private.

Latest news and forum vibes

  • As of early 2025–2026 coverage, major entertainment outlets describe their relationship as long‑term and serious, often highlighting how low‑key and private they try to be despite global attention.
  • Forum discussions and pop‑culture threads frequently revisit that 2021 car‑kiss moment as the point fans “count” for when Zendaya and Tom Holland started dating, even though many believe the romance began a bit earlier, off‑camera and out of the spotlight.

TL;DR: They likely grew closer over several years after meeting on Spider‑Man , but for anyone searching “when did Zendaya and Tom Holland start dating,” the widely accepted answer is mid‑2021, when those paparazzi photos confirmed their relationship to the public.

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