It was around the Golden Globes in 2024 when people really started to wonder if Martin Short and Meryl Streep were really happening. Short is a widower – his wife Nancy passed away in 2010. Meryl is apparently permanently estranged from her husband Don Gummer, although neither has made a move to file for divorce. Meryl now appears in Only Murders In the Building alongside Short and Steve Martin, and that seems to be where Meryl and Martin Short fell for each other. Granted, they’ve known each other for decades, but it really looks like this friendship turned romantic more than a year ago.
Meryl Streep and Martin Short may have been keeping fans in the dark on their relationship, but Page Six has learned that the two have actually been dating for “well over a year now.” A source tells us that the romance between the “Only Murders in the Building” co-stars was “completely unexpected” and also “took them by surprise.”
“Meryl couldn’t help but fall for Martin,” the insider shares. “He is a gentleman, he keeps her laughing and is an all around positive person. She loves being around him.”
According to the source, neither Streep, 75, nor Short, 74, “were looking for a relationship when they started dating.” The pair’s “friends and family, including their kids, absolutely approve of their relationship and think they’re adorable together.”
Short and the “Devil Wears Prada” star’s romance comes after Page Six revealed in October 2023 that the latter secretly split from her husband, Don Gummer, in 2017. The exes were married for 40 years. Streep previously dated actor John Cazale, whom she cared for until he died from lung cancer in March 1978. The Tony Award winner, meanwhile, was wed to wife Nancy Dolman for three decades until she passed away from ovarian cancer in 2010.
“Meryl and Martin have bonded over the loss of their exes,” who both passed away from cancer, the insider says.
Our source tells Page Six that the duo are happy with the status of their relationship and have no plans to wed.
“Meryl is still legally married to Don but even if she were divorced, that’s just not something that she or Martin are interested in,” the insider explains. “They’re happy dating as boyfriend and girlfriend. They’ve been friends for years and have several mutual friends.”
Although the couple has “traveled in the same social circles, they were never really on one another’s radar in terms of a romantic relationship.”
There’s this whole discourse online where toxic men are always complaining about how women only want to date tall, ripped, rich men. It was always BS, but I want to show those toxic men this relationship and let them know that this is actually what most women want: a nice guy who makes us laugh. I also want to ask the ladies… you would shoot your shot with Martin Short, right? Like, I totally get this relationship – Martin Short is a doll, he would keep you laughing and he seems like a really good and decent man. Meryl is probably having a great time.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.