Martin Short Shuts Down Meryl Streep Dating Rumors: ‘We’re Not a Couple’

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Image Credit: Christopher Polk/Shutterstock for SAG Awards

Martin Short denied that he’s dating Meryl Streep on the January 28 episode of Bill Maher‘s podcast. While Martin, 73, and Meryl, 74, played love interests on season 3 of Only Murders in the Building, and sat next to each other at the Golden Globe Awards in early January, Martin pushed back on the romance rumors when Bill, 68, referred to the two actors as a “power couple.”

“We’re not a couple, we are just very close friends,” Martin said on Club Random with Bill Maher.

“Well, you should because there’s nothing more powerful in Hollywood than a power couple,” Bill told the Father of the Bride actor. “It worked for Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, it worked for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie,” he added.

Martin and Meryl sparked dating rumors when they were seen chatting and embracing at the 2024 Golden Globes on January 7. However, Martin’s rep clarified that the two are not in a relationship in a statement to The Messenger. “They are just very good friends, nothing more,” the rep said.

The famous actors worked together for the first time in their careers on the latest season of Martin’s hit Hulu comedy series. Meryl joined the cast of Only Murders in the Building as Loretta Durkin, a struggling actress who stars in Martin’s character Oliver Putnam’s Broadway show. They forge a romantic relationship and are a full-fledged couple by the end of the season.

In real life, Meryl and Martin are both seemingly single at the moment. It was revealed in late 2023 that Meryl had been separated from her husband Don Gummer for six years. The pair had been married since 1978 but they quietly separated in 2017. “Don Gummer and Meryl Streep have been separated for more than 6 years, and while they will always care for each other, they have chosen lives apart,” a spokesperson for the former couple said in October 2023.

Martin, meanwhile, was married to Canadian actress Nancy Dolman from 1972 until her death from ovarian cancer in 2010. Martin opened up about her passing in an interview with AARP: The Magazine in 2019. “Our marriage was a triumph. So it’s tough,” he said. “She died in 2010, but I still communicate with her all the time. I believe that when people die, they zoom into the people that love them. The idea that it just ends, and don’t speak of them — that’s wrong….to me, she’s still here.”