Meryl Streep and Martin Short Are ‘Falling in Love’: ‘Something Just Sparked Between Them’

They play love interests on screen — and Meryl Streep and Martin Short sure looked the part off-screen as they sweetly held hands at the August 24 premiere of season 4 of Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building in Hollywood.

“I think it’s been a friendship that always grows if you work with someone and love that person,” Martin, 74, gushed about his costar at the event.

For months, rumors of their late-life romance have been brewing, with a rep for the Oscar winner, 75, twice insisting the pair are “just friends.”

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But an insider exclusively tells Closer they’re actually an item, and their PDA at the premiere was their subtle way of showing it.

“They knew exactly what they were doing by coming out on stage holding hands,” says the insider. “It was their way of basically telling everyone that there’s a lot more to their relationship, and that they’re falling in love.”

They’ve both weathered the end of long marriages. Martin lost his wife of 30 years to cancer in 2010, while in 2023, it was revealed that Meryl and her husband of four decades had been separated for six years. She and Martin are longtime friends.

“They’re comfortable and natural together,” says the insider. “No one expected this, least of all them, but something just sparked between them when they worked together.”

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With their kids grown — Meryl has four, Martin, three — there’s nothing stopping the pair’s romance.

“Everyone is so happy for them and just delighted to see them smiling,” continues the insider. “They’re such a great couple.”