Zendaya and Tom Holland are goals - but couples need to avoid important part of their relationship
Ever since they first met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming back in 2016, Zendaya and Tom Holland have been the ‘IT’ couple of Hollywood.
The 29-year-old Euphoria star and 30-year-old British actor have proven time and time again why they’re couple goals, from their continuous public support for each other to their ultra-private wedding earlier this year.
While fans are obsessed with Zendaya and Tom's down-to-earth nature, there’s one aspect of their relationship that not many couples can relate to - they work together a lot.
From starring in the Spider-Man movies as love interests Peter Parker and MJ to both bagging roles in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, they’ll have spent a lot of time together both at home and on set.
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Amid the release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which hit cinemas on 29 July, Tyla spoke with relationship experts about what it’s really like to work with your spouse.
While it can of course bring many positives, your relationship following you into the workplace also comes with its fair share of challenges, which some people might want to avoid.
The biggest challenges of working with your partner
Lovehoney’s Sex and Relationship expert Annabelle Knight warned: “Working with your partner sounds great on the face of it, but it can carry with it potential issues.”
She explained that the first stumbling block is ‘pure oversaturation,’ outlining that while this will differ from couple to couple, ‘generally it’s healthy to be able to spend some time away from your partner’.
The expert says: “If you are not getting this at work, then overexposure could cause friction. It also risks breaking down your work/life balance – if those lines become blurred because you work with your partner, then again it could cause arguments.
“A final point is that working with your partner might mean that you are prevented from making connections with colleagues, for example if you spend your lunch breaks and social times with your partner, you might be missing out elsewhere.”
Meanwhile, Courtney Boyer, relationship coach and author Opened, explained that another big challenge is there being ‘no natural place for the working day to end’.
She told Tyla: “A disagreement about a deadline follows you into dinner, while tension at home can saunter straight into a meeting.
“Couples may also struggle with competing leadership styles, financial pressure, or one person becoming the default organizer at work and at home. That invisible labor can quickly become resentment if it isn’t recognised.”
Top ‘rules’ for working with your partner
In some instances, like Tom and Zendaya on Spider-Man, working with your partner simply can’t be avoided, for example, if you met at work, or set up a business together.
If you do find yourself in this situation, don’t stress - if celebrities can make it work, so can you.
Annabelle advised that her number one rule is to ‘separate work and life’ and completely avoid speaking about work at home.
She added: “It may even help if you work from home to go for a walk or something to put a line in the sand between your job and your personal life.
“Make sure to plan dates and other things to do in your free time, so that you spend actual quality time together outside of your jobs.”
While Courtney revealed that her most important advice is for each person in the relationship to ‘define their roles’.
“Who is responsible for what? Who has the final say in different areas? What happens when there's a disagreement? 'We’ll work it out' sounds romantic, but clarity is often far more loving and helpful than constant flexibility,” she explained.
The expert outlined how, as Annabelle said, couples also need 'protected time where work is off-limits'.
She urged: “You can't allow your relationship to become one endless staff meeting. Intimacy is not the same as constant access.
“You still need space to miss each other, choose each other, and remember who you are outside both the relationship and the work.
“It is equally important to criticize the idea, not the person. 'I don’t think this strategy is working' is very different from 'You never listen to me.' Couples need to be able to disagree without making the relationship itself feel unsafe.”
The positives of working together
Before you rush off to break up with your partner, rest assured, there are also some ‘enormous benefits’ to be aware of.
Courtney explained that working together ‘allows couples to build something connected to their shared values, understand each other’s ambitions, and celebrate wins with someone who knows exactly what was required’.
She explained: "It can create a powerful sense of teamwork and intimacy, provided neither person has to sacrifice their voice or individuality to maintain it.
“Couples who work together are not inherently more or less likely to last. The deciding factor is not proximity; it is whether both people feel respected, autonomous, and able to tell the truth.”
Annabelle echoed that it means you have something important in common, and ‘know that you always have someone that has your back’ in the workplace.
She concluded: “If a couple can sustain a relationship while working together, you know they are made of strong stuff.
“You are definitely able to develop a closer bond working together, solidifying another aspect of your relationship, which could explain why those that work together, stay together.”
Tom Holland and Zendaya relationship timeline
2016
Holland and Zendaya meet for the first time at a chemistry read for Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Apparently, producer Amy Pascal warned them not to date, after every other Spider-Man leading man and lady (Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone) ended up falling for each other off-screen.
Pascal later told the New York Times: “I took Tom and Zendaya aside, separately, when we first cast them and gave them a lecture.
“Don’t go there—just don’t. Try not to. It can just complicate things, you know?”
Later that year, the pair start popping up on each other’s Instagram feeds.
July 2017
An insider tells People that Holland and Zendaya are dating, adding ‘they've gone on vacations with each other and try and spend as much time as possible with one another’.
Zendaya responds on X, writing: “Wait wait...my favorite is when it says we go on vacations together HA! I haven't been on a vacation in years!”
Holland responds, adding: “Does the press tour count?”
August 2017
In a Variety interview, Zendaya again tried to put rumours of her romance with Holland to bed. She says: “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.”
February 2020
Zendaya and her Euphoria co-star Jacob Elordi are snapped by paparazzi kissing in New York. However, their romance appears to end months later.
May 2020
The Daily Mail reports that Holland is dating The Spanish Princess star Nadia Parkes, and that the pair are isolating together during the Covid-19 lockdown in Holland’s London home. They separate at some point in 2021.
July 2021
A paparazzi picture of Holland and Zendaya kissing in a car in Los Angeles drags their relationship into the public eye.
November 2021
In a GQ profile, Holland says of his relationship being made public: “We sort of felt robbed of our privacy.”
Zendaya says in the same piece: “It was quite strange and weird and confusing and invasive.
“When you really love and care about somebody, some moments or things, you wish were your own.”
February 2022
Holland shoots down rumours that he and Zendaya have bought a house together in South London.
September 2022
Zendaya refers to Holland as her boyfriend for the first time, saying she text him when she won the Emmy for lead actress in a drama series for Euphoria, becoming the youngest double winner in Emmys history.
January 2025
Holland says in a Men’s Health profile that he doesn’t walk red carpets with Zendaya ‘because it’s not my moment, it’s her moment, and if we go together, it’s about us’.
5 January 2025
Zendaya sparks engagement rumours at the Golden Globes after sporting a massive diamond on her ring finger. TMZ reports Holland had proposed between Christmas and New Year at one of Zendaya’s family homes.
February 2026
Zendaya is spotted wearing a new ring, which fans are pretty confident is a wedding ring, indicating she and Holland have secretly wed,
March 2026
Zendaya’s stylish Law Roach tells reporters at the Actor Awards: "The wedding has already happened - you missed it! It’s very true."
However, the waters are muddied as this is around the time Zendaya is promoting The Drama, a wedding-themed movie she’s starring in with Robert Pattinson.
Some fans think her wedding ring and Roach’s comment are promo for the A24 film.
April 2026
AI-generated wedding pictures of Holland and Zendaya go viral. Zendaya tells Good Morning America: “AI is really getting advanced these days. Have an eye out. It definitely tricked some family and friends of mine."
June 2026
An Esquire journalist asks Holland if he had to send clarifications to family and friends about the AI-generated wedding photos. He responds: “No, because they were all there. That’s all you’ll get on that.”
Topics: Zendaya, Entertainment, Tyla Exclusive, Sex and Relationships, Celebrity
Madison Burgess