Are Meryl Streep and Martin Short Dating? Inside the Juicy Hollywood Rumor

We love Meryl Streep. We adore Martin Short. If they were a couple, our heads might explode!

A new rumor sees on-screen duo Loretta Durkin and Oliver Putnam from Only Murders in the Building Season 3 transitioning their love to real life (if Hollywood can be considered as such).

So is there any truth to the notion that the Academy Award-winning actor and the comedic genius are an item beyond the show? Read on for a look behind the rumor that has people completely freaking out.

The rampant rumor about Meryl and Martin being an item off-screen started with a tweet shared during the 2024 Golden Globes on Jan. 7, 2024.

From there, tongues were wagging about the prospect of a truly iconic Hollywood romance that fans haven't seen in many years.

"Are Meryl Streep and Martin Short dating… because if that’s true… that’s like Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner multiplied by Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft," Louis Virtel wondered.

First, the biggest question on our minds is whether the two actors are single.

Meryl — who interestingly had an on-screen romance with Steve Martin, Martin's close and personal pal, in the movie It's Complicated — separated from her husband of many years, Don Gummer, in 2017.

Martin tragically lost his wife, Nancy Dolman, in 2010.

So, yes, the two A-listers are single and ready to mingle, or so it would seem. But that doesn't mean that they are a couple, although fans are certainly rooting for their romance to happen.

Sadly, we may be waiting a while for the legendary actors to get together outside of episodes of Only Murders in the Building. Martin's rep responded to the speculation that he was dating his co-star, saying, “They are just very good friends, nothing more.”

Still, fans can't help but feel deep down that something is brewing between the two, and it’s only a matter of time before it’s exposed. During the Only Murders in the Building Season 4 premiere at Paramount Studios on Aug. 22, 2024, there was a brief moment when the two grabbed each other’s hands, giving off a "more than a friend" vibe. See for yourself!

But then, it seemed Martin quickly tried to recover the situation and put on his professional face for photographers. Here's a still image to get a better look!

Denial aside, fans are here for the rumored romance, especially given the bait that writer Adam Feldman dropped a few weeks before the Globes.

"There are two quite surprising celebrity couples I’ve been hearing about for weeks and I can’t believe the news hasn’t broken about either of them yet," he teased.

Could The Devil Wears Prada star and the Father of the Bride alum be one of these couples, but they're just playing coy?

"I just have to stop what I’m doing and think about that for a while. What a wonderful world," one fan tweeted about the prospect of Martin and Meryl being more than friends.

"This would destroy the universe," another fan declared, while someone else said, "So good! We don't deserve you!"

For the fans who were gunning for the rumors to be true, keep your hope alive! The on-screen lovers may be just friends at the moment, but who knows? Stranger things have happened — like Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce getting together or Timothée Chalamet dating Kylie Jenner!

Season 4 of Only Murders in the Building premieres on Aug. 27, 2024.