WWhat is it about Tom Holland and Zendaya? No really, please tell me. These two perfectly good actors seem like perfectly nice and interesting people — and yet for some reason they attract a level of scrutiny that would be more naturally directed toward things like insurance policies and war crimes.
When Zendaya appeared on the Golden Globes red carpet wearing a diamond the size of a Quality Street chocolate on Sunday, all bets were off: She and Holland had to be engaged. Internet sleuths began investigating and, within minutes, determined that the ring she wore was not from Bulgari, whose jewelry Zendaya is contractually obligated to wear as a brand ambassador.
People magazine reported that the ring “appears to be Jessica McCormack’s 5.02-carat East-West cushion diamond button ring, listed in the engagement section on the jewelry brand’s website” — and of course, someone ‘one found a photo of a similar person. McCormack ring on Zendaya’s manicure Instagram, a publication that the actor had appreciated – from 2022. She of course then interviewed jewelry experts who variously estimated the value of the ring. between 100,000 and 500,000 US dollars, which you are certainly happy to know now.
On Monday – a busy day for “sources close to the couple” around the world – TMZ and People both reported confirming that Holland and Zendaya were engaged. And if that’s not enough for you, Deuxmoi published a blind post from a reader who claimed that the boyfriend of someone who tattooed them was the florist who arranged their engagement.
So why do people love this particular celebrity couple so much? Perhaps it’s because they both grew up in the public eye: Holland started out as Billy Elliott in London’s West End at the age of 12, then moved into acting , while Zendaya was a child model and Disney kid.
They really seem to enjoy working together, which is nice: They first met while playing love interests in the Spider-Man films and have both joined the cast of Christopher Nolan’s upcoming adaptation of L ‘Odyssey.
Holland is emotionally aware in the same way that young male stars increasingly are, speaking earnestly about his mental health and sobriety. He is shorter than her and they both agree with this fact, which is widely celebrated by some and criticized by others who have strange ideas about what should make them angry. On social media, they are often jointly praised with unsettling intensity, primarily for being “problem-free” (surely a low bar) and “authentic,” by people who have never met them and probably never will.
Or perhaps it is because of the implicit provocation they pose to those I will call the “parasocially disabled”, as a famous couple who have an aversion to the idea of their private lives being co-opted by vultures. Some cynically responded to it as a clever media strategy which, in turn, seemed to provoke even more vulture-like behavior, with each of their interviews carefully cherry-picked for juicy innuendoes about their relationship. “Our relationship is something that we’re incredibly protective of and want to keep as sacred as possible,” Holland told The Hollywood Reporter in 2023. “We don’t feel like we owe it to anyone, it’s our thing , and that was the case. nothing to do with our careers.
Every clue to their relationship is now studied like a treasure map.
Last week, Holland told Men’s Health that he avoids walking the red carpet with Zendaya at her premieres so as not to draw attention away from her: “Because it’s not my moment, it’s its moment, and if we go together, it’s about us” – which was either “the greenest green flag ever,” as some cooed online, or crashed like a fart in. a submarine, for reasons no sane person will ever understand Even Zendaya’s decision to perhaps announce her engagement by wearing a ring in public was extremely divisive: either a flawless “soft launch” or a terrible call. to attention.
In November, Vogue UK published a full article explaining why a slightly nothing photo they posted of the couple smiling politely at the launch of the Dutch alcohol-free beer line became the most liked post in the magazine’s history. Their conclusion: Well, they’re like us of course, with Vogue citing Zendaya’s “low-key enjoyment of decidedly mundane activities, like going to Waitrose and Gail’s” and Holland’s penchant for eating at Ottolenghi. Well, if they’re like us, can’t celebrities just do things that don’t have more meaning? If Zendaya goes to a Waitrose and no one is there to hear her, does she make any noise?
“We bet Gail’s treat order is brilliantly conventional (a scone for her, one of those little brownie fingers for him?) and that’s why they’re so beloved,” Vogue concluded. Christ. Remember when we behaved normally around celebrities? Yeah, me neither.
theguardian