Only Murders in the Building co-stars Meryl Streep and Martin Short have been friends for years, though the internet has been recently wishing they were something more. Although Short has clarified that he and Streep are genuinely just pals, their relationship is still really sweet.
Both Short and Streep are single. Short was married to his late wife, actress Nancy Dolman, for 30 years before she passed away in 2010 from ovarian cancer. Streep married sculptor Don Gummer in September 1978, and they were together for 40 years before they separated in 2018.
Short and Streep have spent decades professionally at the top of their industry—and have spent the past nine years being friends in the spotlight.
Ahead, a timeline of the actors’ history, including all the recent moments that led to the dating rumors.
February 2015
Streep supported Short on Broadway. The stars posed backstage at It’s Only a Play at the Jacobs Theater on Feb. 3, 2015. Short joined the cast on January 7 that year to play James Wicker.
June 2017
Short and Streep sat next to each other at the AFI’s 45th Life Achievement Award Gala Tribute to Diane Keaton on June 17.
February 2023
Streep, Short, and Steve Martin partied together on February 9. Specifically, they attended the opening night after-party for the Broadway debut of Pictures From Home, and documented it with a photo.
![the show pictures from home broadway opening night](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/martin-short-meryl-streep-and-steve-martin-pose-at-the-news-photo-1708816221.jpg?resize=980:* ""Pictures From Home" Broadway Opening Night")
August–October 2023
Short and Streep co-starred in the hit series Only Murders in the Building, where they played on-screen lovers. Viewers loved their chemistry in the show, leading fans to believe that maybe their relationship wasn’t only fictional.
August 29
In an interview with The Wrap, the series’ showrunner, John Hoffman, shared that Streep was particularly grateful to have an on-screen romance with Short. “It’s pretty unexpected to imagine a pairing of Meryl Streep with Martin Short and watch them find this incredible connection together and, as Meryl said, to not have it be twee or about the age or about any of that,” he said. “It’s just a beautiful romance that you buy, I think because of who these two characters are. But then you see Marty step up in ways that are incredible and nobody works harder at it, comes in with more intelligence to the work and then to watch him have these scenes that break your heart and have to be played with such dramatic poignancy, riding the line of keeping it comedic, keeping it mysterious…I’m amazed.”
January 2024
January 28
Short spoke on the Club Random with Bill Maher podcast and cleared up any confusion on where he stands with Streep.
“We’re not a couple. We are just very close friends,” he said.
January 12
Streep and Short attended the AFI Awards together, where OMITB won TV Program of the Year, and some adorable photos of them sitting together were captured.
Fellow co-stars Selena Gomez and Steve Martin were also at the award ceremony, and the cast reunited on the red carpet.
January 7
Streep and Short were seated next to each other at the 2024 Golden Globe Awards, and the internet loved to see the two laughing together and having fun. However, a rep for Short quickly confirmed with People that they “are just very good friends, nothing more.”
February 2024
February 21
In some photos obtained by People on Wednesday, Streep and Short were spotted getting dinner together at Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica with a group of friends.
March 2024
March 16
Streep and Short spent a Saturday night at the theater. The friends attended a Broadway production of Merrily We Roll Along.
Corey Mach, who plays Tyler in the show, tweeted, “today is the day my beautiful MERRILY cast has been waiting for for almost two years… MERYL IS HERE (with Martin!) 😭 #MeryllyWeRollAlong.”
An Instagram user shared a photo of Streep and Short sitting together at the show, and chatting happily. The user tagged the location as Hudson Theatre.
Krystal Joy Brown, who stars as Gussie in Merrily We Roll Along, commemorated the moment with a Reel featuring photos and video of both Short and Streep after the show.
May 2024
May 14
In an exclusive interview with People, Short revealed how Streep being cast on OMITB came to be, and how playing his character’s love interest was purely “coincidental.”
“The story with Meryl is she phoned me and said, ‘I want to be on it,’” he recalled.
“They already planned that I would have a theatrical experience and there would be a love interest,” the actor added. “So that was coincidental, but she just wanted to be on the show. She didn’t know about [the love story].”
Short also explained how he feels about the public’s constant intrigue regarding his friendship with Streep.
“It’s always interesting. Show business relationships and spec,” he said.
He clarified, however, that he doesn’t feel uncomfortable about all the interest.
“She’s fabulous. There’s no one who doesn’t adore her,” he shared of his co-star.
Short also recalled what it was like to first have Streep join the cast and admitted that he found himself a bit nervous before shooting with her: “I remember driving to work and thought, ‘Gee, this is odd. I’m a little bit [nervous]. Oh, of course! I’m going to do a two-person scene with Meryl.”
August 2024
August 22
At the Los Angeles premier of OMITB’s fourth season, the duo reignited romance rumors by walking down the carpet hand-in-hand. Deadline shared a video of Streep and Short on X (formerly Twitter).
But hours before the premiere party, Short shut down any relationship speculation, assuring The Hollywood Reporter in an interview that they really are just pals.
August 26
In an interview with Extra, Short shared his love for Streep. “I think a friendship always grows if you work with someone and love that person,” he said during a sit-down with Selena Gomez and Steve Martin.
While Short didn’t “want to reveal too much of what happens” between their OMITB characters, Oliver Putnam and Loretta Durkin, Gomez chimed in to call their bond “so sweet.”
Martin then clarified that Streep “is friends with all of” them. “I’ve worked with her,” the comedian said as Short nodded. “I did a movie with her very fortunately … and if I don’t see her for two years [and] get back together, you’re already laughing and talking. It’s friendly.”
August 27
An insider present at the OMITB premiere told Page Six that Streep and Short’s relationship “has gotta be more than a ‘showmance.’ There is definitely something there.” As to what led the source to believe this, they added that Short “was attentive” when they were together. “They walked in holding hands, and were in great spirits, laughing. It was very sweet and cute,” the source added.
A representative for Streep, however, shut down any rumors. “They are just friends,” the rep told Page Six.
September 2024
September 13
With the Emmys, fans expected to see Streep and Short together again. A post on X, formerly Twitter, indicated they’ll be very close indeed for the awards show airing on ABC. It alleged to be a screenshot of behind-the-scenes footage “confirming” that the pair were seated next to one another for the event. The shot shows the rows of red seats, some marked by photos and information. Short and Streep seem to have placards on seats right beside each other.
October 2024
October 18
On Friday, Oct. 18, Steve Martin seemed to allude to the relationship between Streep and Short with a post on Instagram. It was a picture of the three of them as part of a screenshot of a Glamour Magazine story. Over Martin’s face there was a big red circle with a line through it.
Fans in the comments were asking if this was about the two potentially being a couple, but he has not responded.
Bri is the editorial and social media assistant at ELLE.com. Before joining the team at ELLE, she worked as the editorial assistant for Seventeen.com and Cosmopolitan.com where she covered all things celebrity news and pop culture. You can probably find her sipping an oatmilk iced chai while searching for the best new makeup products or thrifting her entire wardrobe.