Meryl Streep “couldn’t help but fall” for Martin Short.
Streep feels Short is “a gentleman, he keeps her laughing and is an all around positive person. She loves being around him,” a source exclusively tells Page Six.
The “Only Murders in the Building” co-stars — who have been dating for “well over a year now” — are enjoying a romance that was “completely unexpected and took them by surprise,” the insider says.
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.”
Reps for Streep and Short did not immediately respond to Page Six’s requests for comment.