Zendaya almost overshadowed the SAG Awards on Sunday (until Michael B Jordan and Sinners let everyone know that we have a race on at the Oscars) when Law Roach flippantly decided to announce – confirm? – that Zendaya and Tom Holland are already married.

Here’s the clip that I think went the most viral:

@deciderdotcom Zendaya's longtime stylist Law Roach revealed on the #ActorAwards ♬ original sound - Decider

Not sure if everyone is aware of this but he didn’t just say it once, he said it at least twice.

@entertainmenttonight Law Roach says he's not planning Zendaya's wedding dress because that already happened (wait, what?!), so it's on to the fashion they're planning for all her premieres this year. ET has reached out to reps for Zendaya and Tom Holland for comment. #ActorAwards #lawroach #zendaya #tomholland ♬ original sound - Entertainment Tonight

That’s two different outlets, and he’s singing the same song. And in almost exactly the same way. A lot of people thought he was clowning, a lot of people took him seriously. Then her mother, Claire Stoermer, left a cryptic comment on Instagram which didn’t exactly clarify much but now an update, related to promotion for The Drama, which is coming out in a month.

The film’s social channels posted footage of Zendaya and Robert Pattinson at a photo shoot and she’s wearing both her engagement ring and what looks like a gold band. I know this because the fans on socials already zoomed in on it. Here are the still photos.

And the video.

Can we now assume they’re married then? All the elements have come together. Because Law Roach isn’t new. He would understand more than anyone what a heatscore Zendaya is, what a heatscore Zendaya and Tom are together, and how much anticipation there was in the general public internet about her wedding dress, given that she is a living fashion icon.

While he seemed to be speaking offhandedly, and maybe even trolling, the fact that the wording was the same multiple times suggests that he was waiting for the opportunity to say it – which is becoming more clear when you factor in her mom’s reaction, that now reads like a “haha gotcha”, and Zendaya’s rings in these images.

If Law really was waiting for the opportunity to say it, he would have cleared it with her and Tom, no doubt. Or perhaps that was always the plan, for him to casually spill the tea on SAG night, which is so much more chic than a press release or an Instagram photo. When the image architect uses words to confirm what so many people commonly do with a picture, it’s next level subversive.

But it also tracks with who Z and Tom are: private. They have always said, both together and individually, that when they’re not working, they do not want to belong to the public, to the discourse. That they have clear boundaries between their celebrity and their actual humanity. Getting married secretly is SO THEM because getting married was FOR THEM.

I’ve seen a few posts on social media the last few days from people bitterly disappointed that they might not be able to see her wedding dress, that they feel that they’ve missed out on something important. Honestly? I also would like to see her wedding dress, all the details. She’s just such a f-cking all-star, such a fashion legend, of course I wanted to know. Want, though, is not need. And it’s probably better for both Zendaya, Tom, and everyone else for us not to know. Because it’s healthier for them to preserve a big piece of their lives for themselves. When they are healthier, their work is the better for it, and their celebrity is better for it, in as much as they might continue to be willing to be celebrities, with limits. And that’s the bigger picture when you consider they’re just approaching 30, there’s so much road ahead, so much uncertainty ahead, why voluntarily invite unnecessary scrutiny and complication? We also win when they’re happy. And also…it’s just so much cooler to not make it a f-cking TikTok spectacle. 

Photo credits: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/BACKGRID

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