Not at all like Rue and Nate! Zendaya and Jacob Elordi became just another couple who met on set after they started dating in 2019.
The Disney Channel alum and the Kissing Booth star portray high school rivals Rue Bennett and Nate Jacobs on Euphoria, which debuted on HBO in June 2019. The pair seemed like nothing more than costars until they were spotted spending time together around the world.
Zendaya and Elordi were first romantically linked in August 2019 when they were seen vacationing in Greece. Trips to Sydney and New York followed, as the duo tried to downplay their connection. Us Weekly confirmed in February 2020 after months of speculation that they were dating.
Before things became official, their Euphoria costar Will Peltz gave his seal of approval. “I have no predictions, but they’d definitely be a cute couple, though, for sure!” he exclusively told Us in September 2019.
Despite the support, Elordi and Zendaya chose to keep their relationship private, with him even denying they were an item in December 2019. He went so far as to describe her as “like my sister.”
The actress and the Australia native were each linked to previous costars before they hit things off. Elordi, for his part, dated his Kissing Booth castmate Joey King from 2017 to 2018.
“I think it’s a good thing we dated in the first place,” the Act alum said during an August 2020 appearance on The Howard Stern Show. “I learned the most I’ve ever learned in my life from him.”
As for Zendaya, she and her Spider-Man: Homecoming costar Tom Holland repeatedly shut down dating rumors. “We are friends,” she told Variety in August 2017. “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.”
The Greatest Showman star divulged her thoughts on dating in her 20s later that year. She explained on Zendaya: The App, “I’m so anti being in a committed relationship when you’re young and people are learning and growing because when people are young, they make bad decisions sometimes because they don’t know any better. … It’s very hard to be in a relationship when the both of you are still figuring out life.”
Scroll down to revisit Elordi and Zendaya’s relationship timeline.