Steve Martin Hilariously Hints at Martin Short/Meryl Streep Romance While Clarifying That It’s Not A Throuple

It doesn’t take a true-crime podcaster to decipher the mysterious meaning behind Steve Martin’s latest shitpost.

Just as their characters continue to grow closer on Only Murders in the Building, entertainment titans Martin Short and Meryl Streep appear to be head-over-heels for one another, at least according to the industry’s foremost gossip columnists. Last week, paparazzi spotted Short and Streep arriving at a swanky, beachside Italian restaurant in Santa Monica together, grinning ear-to-ear with a glow of romance that’s typically only achieved by Hulu gaffers. The photos further added fuel to the fire of romance rumors that first arose back in January, talk that’s only intensified the longer Short and Streep share the screen together. 

Well, Martin shares the screen with both of them, too, so with online speculation over the nature of Short and Streep’s close relationship running rampant, Martin took to social media to clarify that whatever on-set romance may be happening at Only Murders in the Building is NOT a throuple as he posted an incidental hard launch over the weekend — Martin can have Selena Gomez explain what all those terms mean.

When Hollywood gossip outlets first began to suggest that Streep’s celebrated recurring role and subsequent promotion to series regular on Only Murders in the Building led to the blossoming of a romantic relationship with her fellow septuagenarian superstar Short, both Streep and Short downplayed their connection in the media. Short has insisted that he and Streep are “very close friends,” telling Extra back in August, “I think it’s been a friendship that always grows, if you work with someone and love that person.” 

Of course, that same month, Only Murders in the Building fans spotted Short and Streep holding hands at the Season Four premiere party, so the trail of clues isn't that hard to follow despite what Short may claim on the record.

For Martin's non-part in the probably non-platonic “friendship,” his wife, Anne Stringfield, is a guest star on Only Murders in the Building, appearing as the assistant of true-crime podcasting queenpin Cinda Canning, played by Tina Fey. As such, it would be pretty hard for Martin to pull off a polycule with his co-stars with his wife right there — though Gavin Volure could probably sneak it in.