Zendaya on Why Tom Holland Is Her ‘Person’ and the ‘Parasocial Investment’ in Their Relationship

2 min read

THE RUNDOWN

• Zendaya appeared on TheNew York Times’ Modern Love podcast on April 1.
• During the episode, she reflected on her relationship with Tom Holland amid recent speculation about their marital status.
• The actress called Holland her “person,” and detailed how he calmed her down during their first meeting.

Zendaya and Tom Holland have yet to confirm their marital status amid recent speculation that they tied the knot, but the actress is making it clear that her relationship with Holland is in a solid place.

The Drama star appeared on the April 1 episode of TheNew York Times’ Modern Love podcast and opened up about the calming effect that Holland’s presence has on her.

“I think sometimes, at least in my personal experience, I found that—sometimes people can get nervous around people, but there’s a certain feeling that I was able to experience when I knew that this is my person, because I didn’t,” she explained. “I don’t feel nervous, I feel really peaceful and I feel really calm. And feel like, ‘Oh, I actually feel more nervous when I’m away from you than when I’m with you.’ And that’s when I was like, ‘Ah, that’s a good sign, that’s me listening to intuition.’”

During the podcast, the Euphoria star also recalled the first time she met Holland and revealed that he reduced her nerves. “We first met in an audition, so I was pretty nervous anyway, but he did make me feel calm, just by being a nice person, you know, by making me feel comfortable,” Zendaya shared. “Having to do a chemistry read for a big movie like that—it’s like, you really want the job and all these kind of things. And yeah, he was really lovely then.”

While Zendaya did not address rumors about her and Tom Holland recently getting married, she did take a moment on the podcast to comment on social media’s obsession with their relationship and her desire to maintain as much privacy as they can, despite her and Holland’s fame.

“I just feel like for me there is this level of a parasocial investment in my personal relationship,” she said. “I do know that I’m a public person, and so is he, and I’m also aware that we’ve grown up in front of people and we’ve done movies where we fall in love with each other, so I really do understand that and I don’t want to dismiss that like, ‘Stay out of my business’ or whatever.”

Zendaya noted that she is “a very private person,” and added that she tries “my best to be able to have things for myself and for him as well.”