Meryl Streep and Martin Short were photographed sharing an intimate meal in London, sparking renewed attention amid filming chatter for Only Murders in the Building’s sixth season and a long trail of dating rumors they’ve kept playing down.
Meryl Streep and Martin Short appeared unusually close during a recent London dinner, sitting side-by-side inside a restaurant as Short and Streep, both 76, leaned in toward a phone screen. In a fan photo posted on X on Sunday, May 17, Streep rested her shoulder on Short’s chest.
The moment quickly pulled attention online, including a caption that mistakenly referred to Short as Streep’s husband. Streep is currently single following her 2023 split from Don Gummer, while Short has remained single since the death of his wife Nancy Dolman in 2010.
A London sighting like this lands during a busy moment for Only Murders in the Building.. Netflix is filming the show’s sixth season in London, a first for the series outside the U.S.. In recent days. Short and Streep’s costar Steve Martin has posted Instagram photos of himself exploring local stops. including Trafalgar Square and a gift store selling beanies marked with “London.”
The dinner also comes after earlier flirtation-shaped headlines. Dating rumors began swirling in January 2024 after Streep and Short attended the Golden Globes together, but a rep at the time denied anything romantic—saying, “They are just very good friends, nothing more.”
Rumors persisted anyway.. Short has spoken fondly about his costar in multiple interviews. and Amy Schumer. 44. told People in February 2025 that she believed Short was “off the market” after seeing him with Streep at Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary celebrations.. “I think that the tea is, I think Marty might be off the market.. That’s what I’m seeing,” Schumer said.
For their part, the duo has also shared plenty of PDA during OMITB promotion, including hand-holding.. Short has even described the early nerves he felt working with Streep. recalling that on the first day he was driving to the studio and thinking. “I’m nervous today.” He continued. “I [hadn’t] been nervous going to the set for a long time. ” adding that when they reached a holding area. Streep told him. “OK. nerves to half.”
He tied that memory to a specific moment from the show’s production: “The first scene we shot in Only Murders was a scene where we’re at the piano and we’re. kind of. flirting a little bit. ” Short said.. “The first shot set up is over her 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. ‘OK. nerves to half.’ I go. ‘Wait a second. I was nervous.. You can’t be nervous.’”
That same year also featured public appearances beyond the screen.. Five months after their January 2024 Golden Globes moment. Streep and Short attended the opening night of Tom Hanks’ play This World of Tomorrow. posing for a backstage photo with Martin. 80. Martin’s wife. Anne Stringfield. Hanks. 69. Hanks’ wife Rita Wilson. and Chet Hanks.
Streep and Short have also kept showing up together in the dining world, with the pair described as repeat customers at Los Angeles’ Giorgio Baldi restaurant in recent months, spotted leaving the star-studded eatery together on multiple occasions.
Five weeks of attention through the same lens may be part of what makes this latest London meal stand out: it follows earlier reports of close on-screen camaraderie at OMITB events. continued dating-talk since January 2024. and a timeline of sightings paired with denials—turning each new photo into another familiar chapter in the story.
Representatives for Streep and Short have been contacted for comment.
Five months later, the question of what’s behind the closeness remains unresolved in public statements, but for now, London has delivered one more image—Streep’s shoulder on Short’s chest—adding fuel to the conversations that never really cooled off.
Meryl Streep Martin Short Only Murders in the Building London filming Netflix PDA Golden Globes Amy Schumer Steve Martin Tom Hanks play