Onscreen lovers but 'just really good friends' in real life: Inside the simmering romance rumours between two of Hollywood's elite

Meryl Streep is widely regarded as one of the greatest actresses of all time. Martin Short is lauded in Hollywood for his comedic genius. Together they would make an unstoppable duo – or perhaps they already have?

Streep, 75 and Short, 74 – who are both up for awards at this year's Emmy Awards – have been friends for more than nine years but rumours that they are something more than that have been bubbling away since the beginning of the year.

Their long-term friendship, undeniable onscreen chemistry in Only Murders In The Building and the fact that they are both single (unless???) make for the perfect combination to lend to the simmering romance rumours.

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Add to that a sweet red carpet moment where the two veteran actors hold hands and openly sing Together (Wherever We Go) and you've found a surefire way to render stans of Mertin … or Maryl … or Shreep (we're still workshopping that one) absolutely convinced.

And even though both Streep and Short's teams have come out to pour cold water on the smoking hot gossip, fans are still eyeing their every move for even the slightest glimmer that they may in fact be translating their onscreen love story to real life.

So how did all this come about?

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To understand the romance rumours we need to rewind to this year's Golden Globes which were held on January 7.

While Streep and Short have been connected since at least 2015 when they posed backstage at the Broadway show It's Only a Play and have been spending a lot of time together since Selena Gomez announced that Streep was to join the cast of Only Murders In The Building, rumours of a romance between the two can be traced back to the glamorous celebrity awards show at the start of the year.

Short, whose wife of 30 years Nancy Dolman passed away in 2010, and Streep, who confirmed last October that she had separated from her husband Don Gummer six years earlier, attended the event and posed for photographers together.

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But it wasn't their colour-coordinated appearance at the event that roused suspicion.

On a separate table, Short and Streep's co-star Gomez was spotted deep in conversation with her friend and global superstar Taylor Swift.

Footage of the moment quickly circulated around social media and online celebrity sleuths began to speculate that she was gossiping about Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet. 

To dispell the rumours, Gomez set the record straight. 

"Noooooo I told Taylor about two of my friends who hooked up. Not that that's anyone business," she replied to an Instagram headline by ENews. 

It put the Jenner/Chalamet talk to bed but quickly shifted the focus to Streep and Short. Streep's recently announced singledom, their seemingly ever-growing friendship and Gomez' professional proximity to the pair fit the bill and led fans to believe that Streep and Short were the well-acquainted duo Gomez was referring to.

However, shortly after the Golden Globes fiasco, a rep for Short confirmed to People that the duo are "just very good friends, nothing more".

That same month, Short addressed the rumours himself in a chat with Bill Maher on his podcast Club Random. 

"We're not a couple. We are just very close friends," he said.

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A rep for Streep has also addressed the rumours telling  Page Six that "they are just friends".

Since denying the rumours, Streep and Short have carried on enjoying each other's company – they were spotted getting dinner together at a Santa Monica restaurant with friends and on another occasion spent an evening together at a Broadway show. 

But as these things so often do, the pot of their romance rumours sat idly simmering away and come August the flame under it was turned back to full-blown when the duo attended the Los Angeles premiere for Only Murders In The Building Season Four. The pair walked hand-in-hand down the red carpet appearing very merry in each other's company – reigniting the rumour mill.

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Even though only hours before Short had once again shut down relationship speculation in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, fans were not easily convinced and the rumours remained steady when Short shared his love for his global sensation costar in an interview with Extra. 

"I think a friendship always grows if you work with someone and love that person," he said.

Both Streep and Short, who remain adamant that that love is simply platonic, have both received Emmy Award nominations for their respective Only Murders In The Building roles and are likely to make another friendly appearance at the awards show in Los Angeles on Monday.

Whether there's any truth to the simmering romance rumours or Streep and Short really are just good friends having fun together in the spotlight – we can only hope to see more sweet moments from the duo in the future.

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Title: Onscreen lovers but 'just really good friends' in real life: Inside the simmering romance rumours between two of Hollywood's elite
Sourced From: celebrity.nine.com.au/latest/martin-short-and-meryl-streep-inside-romance-rumours-explained/b4577393-c1ad-4f7c-a4aa-34f45a18e536
Published Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2024 22:09:00 GMT