Only Murders in the Building co-stars Meryl Streep and Martin Short have been friends for years but sparked romantic rumors in 2024.The two stars have never officially confirmed any relationship. Short even clarified that he and Streep are genuinely just pals, shutting down dating rumors at one point.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.Jump to:February 2015June 2017February 2023August–October 2023January 2024February 2024March 2024May 2024August 2024October 2024March 2025May 2025June 2025September 2025November 2025April 2026February 2015Streep 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.Bruce Glikas//Getty ImagesJune 2017Short and Streep sat next to each other at the AFI’s 45th Life Achievement Award Gala Tribute to Diane Keaton on June 17.Michael Kovac//Getty ImagesFebruary 2023Streep, 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.Bruce Glikas//Getty ImagesAugust–October 2023Short 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.Patrick Harbron / HuluAugust 29In 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 2024January 28Short 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 12Streep 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.Stefanie Keenan//Getty ImagesStefanie Keenan//Getty ImagesFellow co-stars Selena Gomez and Steve Martin were also at the award ceremony, and the cast reunited on the red carpet.Monica Schipper//Getty ImagesJanuary 7Streep 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.”CBS Photo Archive//Getty ImagesFebruary 2024February 21In 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 2024March 16Streep 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.”View full post on XAn 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.Instagram / @rachbailey1029Krystal 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.View full post on InstagramMay 2024May 14In 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 2024August 22At the Los Angeles premiere 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.View full post on XBut 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 26In 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 27Dating rumors surfaced. A representative for Streep, however, shut down the rumors, telling Page Six, “They are just friends.”October 2024October 18On 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.View full post on InstagramFans in the comments were asking if this was about the two potentially being a couple, but he didn’t respond.March 2025March 8On March 8, Streep and Short attended a Saturday Night Live taping. They arrived together in a clip TMZ ran.Earlier that evening, the actors also attended a Broadway performance of Oh, Mary!, where they posed for a backstage photo with Jennifer Lopez and some of the show’s cast members. Lopez later shared the moment on her Instagram Story.Instagram - Jennifer Lopez//InstagramInstagram - Jennifer Lopez//InstagramMay 2025May 7Streep and Short were photographed sharing a kiss while filming Only Murders in the Building in New York City. The two were in costume as their characters, Loretta Durkin and Oliver Putnam, who are married in the fifth season of the series.June 2025June 30Short appeared on an episode of the podcast Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend and spoke about working with Streep on Only Murders in the Building. “I remember the first day working with Meryl and driving to the studio and thinking, ‘I’m nervous today,’” he said. “I hadn’t been nervous going to the set for a long time. Oh yeah...it’s Mery Streep.”He then went on to share memories of their first scene. “The first scene we shot in Only Murders was a scene where we’re at the piano, and we’re flirting a little bit,” he said. “The first shot set up is to me, so pressure’s on me, and then we break down so that they can reverse the cameras and do her side. We go into the holding area, and she just says, ‘Okay, nerves to half.’ I go, ‘Wait a second, I was nervous. You can’t be nervous.’”View full post on YouTubeSeptember 2025September 14During the 2025 Emmy Awards, Gomez was caught on camera reacting as Short sent Streep text messages from his seat in the audience. Gomez appeared to mouth, “Martin’s texting Meryl,” while playfully nudging fiancé Benny Blanco. Streep did not attend the ceremony.November 2025November 18Streep and Short made a joint appearance at the opening night of Tom Hanks’s new play, This World of Tomorrow, in New York City.Bruce Glikas//Getty ImagesApril 2026During an appearance on Andy Cohen Live on SiriusXM, Streep spoke about the possibility of returning to the stage and referenced Short while discussing future plans.“Oh, I would love to do so,” she said. “I was talking with Marty Short about that.”She added, “We were thinking that would be fun to do something together.”