Wait - are Paul Mescal and Ayo Edebiri actually dating?

When it comes to the internet's boyfriend Paul Mescal, fans are nothing short of fascinated by his dating life. Aside from the bizarre rumours that he runs away from his dates, he did confirm that he has an unusual relationship ick and honestly, we can probably all agree. 

Paul previously dated singer Phoebe Bridgers and the pair largely kept their relationship out of the spotlight. In 2023, shortly after engagement rumours began to swirl, the pair were rumoured to have split and later that year he told Harper's Bazaar how difficult it can be to have a relationship when you're in the public eye. He said: "It's nobody else's business because it's indecent. And it's unkind. Honest answer, it makes me angry… It's the entitlement to the information that people expect that just drives me mad."

However, the rumour mill went into overdrive this weekend when The Bear star Ayo Edebiri shared a photo of herself celebrating St Patrick's Day with the Normal People actor. Dating speculation was well and truly fuelled by the slightly blurry photo which was uploaded to her Instagram stories, with the pair sat happily side by side and laughing into the camera. She simply captioned the photo: "Happy St Paddy's."

Fashion darling Ayo and Oscar-nominated Paul have been spotted together at a number of award ceremonies this year, most notably enjoying the BAFTAs afterparty with Andrew Scott and Alison Oliver. Previously, it had been reported that Paul was dating Don't Worry Darling star Florence Pugh while Ayo was said to be seeing actor and writer Colin Burgess. 

So far, neither party has confirmed or denied the dating rumours - but that hasn't stopped fans from shipping a romantic union and stating that in the very least, these two would make a great on-screen couple. One person wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "The Paul Mescal and Ayo Edebiri romcom is imminent."

Fingers crossed.