Why did Zendaya unfollow Tom Holland?
The Dune star and her Spider-Man co-star have kept much of their relationship private, but they haven’t hidden it either. And Zendaya has fired back at rumors to defend her romance.
But the beloved Brit no longer appears on her list of Instagram follows. A public unfollow is usually a pretty big deal.
And Tom isn’t the only one missing from the list. Zendaya’s fans have questions.
This week, Zendaya unfollowed Tom Holland on Instagram. We didn’t just hear a rumor — we checked it out ourselves and confirmed it.
The beloved MCU twunk isn’t the only Instagram account to receive the axe, but he’s certainly the most eyebrow-raising of the bunch.
Notably, Tom continues to follow Zendaya. So, good news! That means that she didn’t block him or even soft-block him.
What makes this a little less of a five-alarm fire for their relationship is the total scope of her unfollowing spree.
Zendaya is not, as of January 4, following even a single person. Not friends, not family, not her boyfriend, and not even anyone’s secret private accounts (unless she’s following them on her own private account).
Tom is following over 300 accounts. And, as we mentioned, one of them continues to be Zendaya.
Even though Zendaya did not explain her drastic purge, many fans are already making guesses.
We’re just a few months out from her hotly anticipated film, Challengers. And she’s of course in promo mode for the toxic-tennis-throuple flick.
Here, we have included the trailer for the April 26th film. I’d say that this will be my Saltburn, but Saltburn was also my Saltburn.
Simply put, Zendaya’s public Instagram is a promotional tool for her professional life. And she has previously spoken about how she does — and does not — use it.
A few years ago, Zendaya spoke about social media to People. At the time, she explained how it impacts her mental health.
“Being on [social media] would kind of make me anxious, or I would start to overthink a little too much,” Zenday aexplained. “[My fans] want me to … be happy and exist beyond social media.”
Because of this, Zendaya takes mental health breaks from social media.
“Take the time that you need,” she suggested to her fans.
“And,” Zendaya then continued, “don’t compare yourself to anyone else.”
Obviously, she knows that fans will see that she is no longer following Tom Holland. And she knows that this will create a stir.
For most people, however, the moment that they see that she is no longer following anyone, their minds will be at ease.
Yes, a mass-unfollow would be a great cover story for a breakup that you don’t want to make public yet. But that seems like a very unlikely explanation in this case.
Truth be told, Tom and Zendaya’s real-life romance (however guarded) has displayed more affection than their scripted relationship in the MCU-adjacent Spider-Man films.
Sony and Marvel appear reluctant to truly center Tom Holland’s Peter Parker in Spider-Man movies, forcing him to team up with surrogate father figures with ties to the broader MCU.
As a result, a lot of defining aspects of Spider-Man’s life and of Peter’s love life with MJ have fallen by the wayside. All so that we get more screentime of stern flying men with goatees, apparently.
However, Zendaya and Tom’s very real interactions have made them one of the entertainment industry’s most beloved young couples.
In particular, Tom always seems happy to loudly gush on social media about how gorgeous, talented, and radiant Zendaya is.
They don’t invite cameras into their private lives … but he has repeatedly let people know just how much he adores her.
It is a wise decision to limit how much of her love life she shares.
And Zendaya is equally wise in taking mental health breaks from social media, even if she leaves her account up ahead of a new film.
Besides … if people flock to her Instagram to confirm that she’s unfollowed everyone, they’ll also see her Challengers promo posts. That can’t be a bad thing.