Are Meryl Streep and Martin Short a couple? Everything we know

Young love, isn't that great? Just as great: not-so-young love. And friendship! We shouldn't speak badly of that! Rumors about whether Hollywood mainstays Martin Short And Meryl Streep, who appeared in the last two seasons of the Emmy-nominated series Only murders in the building, are more than friends and colleagues, have been arguing for months.

And as Streep’s spokesman said Vanity Fair before the 2024 Emmys, they are just that: rumors. “They are just friends,” Streep's rep said by email this week.

The two caught the public’s attention in January when they attended the Golden Globes together and quite cozy. Not long before, in October 2023, Streep's representatives confirmed that Streep and husband Don Gummer had quietly separated “more than six years” earlier after decades of marriage. It can't be said that the now 75-year-old winner of multiple Oscars and Emmys doesn't have a talent for keeping her private life private and, oh, one of the most celebrated actresses of modern times. After the Globes, her reps insisted the two are just friends, and they continue to be so.

Short, 74, was married to his wife Nancy Dolman from 1980 until her death from ovarian cancer in 2010. He has not had a confirmed relationship with anyone since then and still speaks tenderly of Dolman and tells AARP the Magazine In 2019, he said he was still in touch with her. “I think when people die, they focus on the people they love,” he said. “The idea that it's just over and you don't talk about them anymore – that's wrong … to me, she's still here.”

Life sometimes imitates art, and Short and Streep play colleagues who become friends who become lovers. Only murders, with plenty of dip for dinner in between. Does that sound familiar?

Bill Maher is one of those rooting for these two crazy kids. When guest Short claimed in January, “We're not a couple, we're just very close friends,” he laughed and replied, “You should be. Because in Hollywood, there's nothing more powerful than a power couple.”

In February, the two were spotted having dinner with a group of friends in Santa Monica. In March, they headed to Broadway to see the critically acclaimed We roll along happily, the eventual winner of this year's Tony for Best Musical Revival. Could Short and Streep be “two of my friends who got together”? Only murders star Selena Gomez gossiped with Taylor Swift at the Golden Globes? That's what the internet wants to believe, anyway. Then, in August, none other than Martin Short and Meryl Streep were seen holding hands at the season four premiere festivities. Only murders. The horny online group went crazy again. But once again, the spokespeople gave the “just friends” explanation after a Page Six source inside the party said the two were “in a great mood and laughing. It was very sweet and cute.”

Only murders in the building is nominated for a total of 21 Emmys this year, honoring the third season of the series. Streep is nominated in the category “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy” and Short in the category “Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy,” where he was also nominated for the first two seasons of the series.