Famous YouTubers Dan Howell and Phil Lester, called by fans as Dan and Phil, finally confirmed their relationship through their YouTube channel.
On Monday, the pair surprised fans with a video titled “Are Dan and Phil in a Relationship?” In the video, Dan and Phil opened up about their long-hidden romance. Dan shared that their relationship began in 2009, saying, “It was so fast that we never labelled it. We just ended up living together, and here we are!”
Who are Dan and Phil?
Dan and Phil are two British YouTubers who gained fame for their funny and creative videos. They have been making content together since 2009, including reaction videos, skits, books, CBBC shows, and Radio 1 programmes, like ‘The Internet Takeover.’ Over the years, they built a massive online following, becoming beloved figures in the YouTube community.
The duo have collaborated on many projects, including YouTube videos, books, and live shows. However, despite their success, they were careful to avoid becoming “couple vloggers” and didn’t want their personal life to overshadow their professional work.
Dan explained that they wanted to avoid the “dystopian nightmare that is couple vlogging,” where the relationship becomes part of the content, and if it goes wrong, it could affect their entire career.
In 2019, both Dan and Phil came out as gay in separate YouTube videos. At that time, Dan acknowledged the pair’s romantic history but did not clarify their current relationship status.
In 2024, they began their third joint tour, ‘Terrible Influence, after taking a break following their 2018 ‘Interactive Introverts’ tour.
During their break, Dan published a book titled ‘You Will Get Through This Night’ and went on a solo comedy tour called ‘We’re All Doomed’. Phil, on the other hand, focused on growing his YouTube channel, ‘AmazingPhil.’
In 2023, they reunited for their gaming channel after it had been on hiatus since 2018, and started planning their third tour.
As they move forward, Dan and Phil are excited about a new chapter of content together, including the launch of their ‘Dan and Phil’ podcast.
They joked about how the podcast will bring out “15 years of stories and opinions” that the have kept private all this time.
How did the couple reveal their relationship?
In the video Phil said, “We’re partners in everything. And no, it’s not always perfect. Don’t get into your head that we are the ideal of human partnerships.”
For years, both Dan and Phil kept their relationship private. Dan explained that he was “deep in the closet” and felt the need to hide the relationship because he was still figuring out his own identity.
He admitted that one of the main reasons for keeping it a secret was fear of how others would react.
Phil also shared his feelings, saying he felt like he “had gone back in a mini closet” during that time. He said, “I knew this was all very sensitive, uncomfortable, and scary for you,” and wanted to give Dan space to decide what to do about it.
Even though the two came out as gay in 2019, they continued to keep their romantic relationship private, choosing to focus on their work as a comedy duo rather than as boyfriends.
Dan added, “Who’s to say there’s anything wrong with having the cute gay couple show? It’s just that we wanted the focus to be on what we were doing,” referring to their comedic content.
Phil agreed, “Let’s be honest, there’s a lot of homophobia out there.”
‘For some reason I thought this happened years ago?’
Netizens also posted their opinion on the post. A user noted, “For some reason I thought this happened years ago?.” Another claimed, “When Dan came out he confirmed they were more than friends, and that alongside the fact they were both openly out and living together, it was essentially all but said pretty much. But they never formally were like yes we are in a relationship.”
“Honestly the way they sometimes talked around it in public after they came out I always wondered if all the internet speculation/pressure had caused them to break up or smth (like they had been dating but had since stopped),” added a netizen.
“I was 100% convinced Dan and Phil had been dating since I first discovered them as a 13 year old 12 years ago. I didn’t even know this wasn’t a known fact lol. It turns out I just had made this fact up and was right all along,” claimed another.
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