Paul Mescal and Ayo Edebiri Are 'Just Friends' Despite Those Dating Rumors: Exclusive Source

Mar. 15, 2025

Paul Mescal and Ayo Edebiri at the Film Independent Spirit Awards on March 4, 2023, in Santa Monica, California.Photo:Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty

Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty

Paul MescalandAyo Edebiriare close — but notthatclose.

A source tells PEOPLE that despitethe romance rumors swirlingas of late, the two actors are “just friends.”

Mescal and Edebiri, both 28, set dating rumors ablaze after they were seen getting close in a joint selfie posted on Instagram Sunday, in honor ofSt. Patrick’s Day.

In the cute photo, which theBearactress shared on her Instagram Story, she and theGladiator 2actor laughed as they sat together on a stairwell. Edebiri had her arms wrapped around Mescal’s shoulder as he took the photo.

“Happy St Paddy’s 🍀,” she wrote for her caption.

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Paul Mescal and Ayo Edebiri.Ayo Edebiri/Instagram

Ayo Edebiri/Instagram

Edebiri likely posted the snap in joking reference to her claimed Irish roots shared with Mescal, which has become a running joke on social media. (She previously raved about her time living in Ireland to prepare for a role inThe Banshees of Inisherin, only she wasn’t actually in theOscar-nominated film, nor did she live in Ireland.)

Some fans, though, were convinced Edebiri and Mescal “soft launched” a new romance with their cozy snap. (The actress waslast linkedto actor/comedian Colin Burgess, back in 2022.)

Or perhaps the pair are testing their chemistry out working on a new project together? Mescal said in a November 2023 interview that he’d be interested in working on a rom-com with Edebiri.

Andrew Scott, Ayo Edebiri and Paul Mescal in London on Feb. 18, 2024.Carlo Paloni/BAFTA via Getty

Carlo Paloni/BAFTA via Getty

Added theNormal Peoplestar, “But I think in the next five years I’m going to set myself a challenge to do maybe a rom-com with Ayo, or something like that would be cool.”

On Sunday, romance novelist Emily Henry appeared to support a collaboration between the actors as she reposted the pair’s St. Patrick’s Day photo onher Instagram Story.

Fans quickly picked up on the repost and shared their reactions to Edebiri and Mescal possibly starring in a romcom adaptation together on social media.

“If Paul Mescal and Ayo Edebiri play a couple in an Emily Henry rom com … I might actually not survive i’m serious,” one fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Mescal and Edebiri have been pictured a few times together in recent months, including in February, when the duo were seen catching up at the BAFTA Awards in London.

They were alsosnaapped in a group photowith Fred Hechinger, Jeremy O. Harris and Michael Seater in October 2023. Last March, the actors were pictured together at the 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards in California.

Slave Playplaywright Harris, 34, also appeared in additional St. Paddy’s Day snaps with Mescal and director Oliver Hermanus, posing on the same stairwell. Hermanus, 40, is directing Mescal in the filmThe History of Sound, which is currently in production.

source: people.com