Martin Short Responds to Meryl Streep Dating Rumors

Martin Short is setting the record straight on those Meryl Streep dating rumors. Just weeks after speculation began that the Only Murders in the Building co-stars sparked romance, the Three Amigos actor clarified his relationship with Streep during an appearance on Bill Maher's Club Random podcast on Sunday.

Short, who stars in the hit Hulu original series as Oliver Putnam, addressed the rumors after podcast host Maher joked about the actor and Streep being a "power couple." Short quickly clarified, "We're not a couple. We are just very close friends."

Short and Streep recently shared the screen together on Only Murders in the Building. While Short has starred on the show opposite Steve Martin's Charles-Haden Savage and Selena Gomez's Mabel Mora since its debut in 2021, Streep joined the cast in its third season as Loretta Durkin. An aspiring Broadway star, Loretta is cast in Oliver's Death Rattle. She quickly sparked romance with Oliver.

Fast forward a few months after Only Murders in the Building's Season 3 premiere in August, and Short and Streep found themselves at the center of dating rumors following their appearance at the Golden Globes in January. The two actors appeared to be very close at the ceremony, leading some to believe they were romantically involved. While that doesn't seem to be the case, Maher told Short, "you should, because there's nothing more powerful in Hollywood than a power couple." He even compared the actors to other Hollywood power couples, noting, "It worked for Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. It worked for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie."

At this time, Streep has not addressed the dating rumors. Prior to his Sunday podcast appearance, a representative for Short told PEOPLE that the actor and his co-star "are just very good friends, nothing more."

Short was married to actress Nancy Dolman – whom he shares Katherine Elizabeth, 40, Oliver Patrick, 37, and Henry Hayter, 34, with – from 1980 until her death from ovarian cancer in 2010. Streep, meanwhile, separated from Don Gummer, her husband of 45 years. The pair, who were introduced to each other by Streep's brother, tied the knot in 1978, with a spokesperson for the actress confirming to Page Six in October, "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."