Tom Holland says it’s a ‘stupid assumption’ that men should be taller than women they date

The actor and his partner, Zendaya, said their height difference does not affect them

Tom Holland and Zendaya (R) (Getty Images for SiriusXM)

Zendaya and Tom Holland have addressed discussions around their height difference, saying it is a “stupid assumption” that men shoulder be taller than their partners.

In an interview with SiriusXM ahead of the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home – in which Holland plays the superhero and Zendaya portrays his love interest, Mary Jane (MJ) – the pair said their height difference has never affected them.

“She’s not that much taller than me, let’s just put this out there,” Holland said, adding that it is a “stupid assumption” that their heights would affect their relationship.

Zendaya, 25, is 5 ft 10 inches, while Holland, 25, is 5 ft 8 inches.

“This is normal too,” Zendaya said. “My mum is taller than my dad. I honestly never thought of it as a thing because my parents were always that way, so I didn’t know that people cared. I had no construct of it.”

Fans have been discussing the couple’s height difference on social media following an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, when the pair joked that it made stunts more difficult during filming.

Explaining the scene to the TV host, Zendaya said their height meant that she would land before Holland, despite him being Spider-Man.

“There’s a particular stunt where Spider-Man swings us on top of a bridge, and he places me there,” she said.

“He’s supposed to gently rest MJ on the bridge and walk away from her. [But] because of our height difference... I would land before him, my feet obviously hit the ground before he does.”

Holland added: “And I’m the superhero. I’m supposed to look cool.”

The on and off-screen couple’s relationship became public knowledge in July when paparazzi captured them kissing outside of her home in Los Angeles.

In an interview for GQ’s Men of The Year issue, published last month, Holland said the pair felt “robbed” of their privacy.

“One of the downsides of our fame is that privacy isn’t really in our control anymore, and a moment that you think is between two people that love each other very much is now a moment that is shared with the entire world,” Holland said.

“We sort of felt robbed of our privacy. I don’t think it’s about not being ready. It’s just that we didn’t want to.”