Andrew Garfield and Amelia Dimoldenberg are not the hottest couple of 2024. It's not even even Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar Jones.
Of course, those pairings are simply internet fantasies, they are not actually official couples at all. Technically speaking, neither are the twosome who have nabbed the top spot.
I am, of course, talking about Hollywood icons Meryl Streep and Martin Short (note, their names both abbreviate to MS).
The pair have been dodging dating rumours for most of the year.
Watch Andrew Garfield and Amelia Dimoldenberg on Chicken Shop Date. Post continues after video.
The Only Murders In The Building co-stars are either happily dating or they're playing one hell of an elaborate prank. If the latter, I respect the long game tbh.
And now, Steve Martin has gotten in on the fun too. After Streep and Short were spotted out together on a night out (one of many rumoured dates), Martin posted a screenshot of a Glamour Magazine story. He photoshopped a red circle with a line through it over his face.
What does this mean???
Well, only Steve Martin knows. But it's done absolutely nothing to dispel the dating rumours — in fact, it's achieved the opposite.
'It's on like Donkey Kong and Steve Martin approves!' the internet celebrated.
So are we all getting a little too excited over a fictitious couple or is there something romantic happening between Meryl Streep and Martin Short? Let's examine the evidence.
Beginning at the very start, the two actors have been friends for years. Back in 2015, Streep was photographed supporting Short on Broadway for It's Only a Play.
At the time, this was three years before Streep separated from her husband Don Gummer, and only five years since Short's late wife, actress Nancy Dolman, passed away from ovarian cancer.
This brings us to 2023 when Streep was cast to play Short's onscreen lover in the hit series Only Murders in the Building.
The series' showrunner, John Hoffman, said the two actors had clear chemistry.
"It's pretty unexpected to imagine a pairing of Meryl Streep with Martin Short and watch them find this incredible connection together," he told The Wrap.
"It's just a beautiful romance that you buy, I think because of who these two characters are."
This connection between the actors clearly translated to them irl.
In January, Streep and Short were photographed being playful on the AFI Awards red carpet with Streep pressing her palm into his face. At the awards, they were seated together and touched hands as they giggled together. Hmm. Interesting.
Later that month without missing a beat, Short denied any dating rumours when speaking on the Club Random with Bill Maher podcast.
"We're not a couple. We are just very close friends," he said.
But alas, the dating rumors started up again at the 2024 Golden Globe Awards when the two stars were, once again, sitting together and having a laugh. Short's rep assured People that they "are just very good friends, nothing more."
At the same awards, their co-star Selena Gomez was photographed in one hell of juicy gossip session with Taylor Swift and Keleigh Teller. At the time, there was speculation (and so, so much lip reading) that she was gossiping about Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner.
Then Gomez revealed that she was actually discussing something entirely different.
"I told Taylor about two of my friends who hooked up," she wrote on an E! News post. "Not that that's [anyone's] business."
'My friends who hooked up' — who could that be?? I have some ideas!
By February, People had obtained photos of Streep and Short getting dinner together in Santa Monica, although it should be flagged they were with a group of friends.
In March, the twosome were again seen out together as they attended a Broadway production of Merrily We Roll Along.
This brings us to May and this time when Short was asked about Streep, his tone did change quite a bit. Gone are the days of straight-up shrugging off speculation as 'we're just friends'.
"It's always interesting. Show business relationships and spec[ulation]," he told People.
"She's fabulous. There's no one who doesn't adore her."
In August, the trolling continued with Streep and Short walking the red carpet for OMITB's fourth season while holding hands.
However, just as fans were ready to scribble little hearts on their diaries with 'MS + MS 4EVA' in it, Short told The Hollywood Reporter (again) that they really are just pals.
I simply cannot continue under these circumstances! My heart can only take so much!
The whiplash continued at the Emmys where the twosome, once again, could not stay away from each other. They sat next to each other in the front row, sending the internet right back into a tailspin.
This brings us back to this very month when the couple were (again!) spotted out at dinner. The media speculation led to Martin posting a mocking photo about his co-stars.
Whether this is just two old friends who enjoy spending time together, or they're actually head-over-heels in love, I have a feeling that we will never know either way.
Well played, Meryl and Martin. Well played.
Feature image: Getty/@stevemartinreally.