Dan Howell and Phil Lester have confirmed they’ve been in a relationship for 16 years after more than a decade of speculation from fans.
The long-time British YouTube duo, who first met in 2009 and went on to build one of the platform’s most loyal fanbases, made the admission in a 47-minute video posted to their shared channel on Monday.
“Alright, let’s get this over with. Are Dan and Phil in a relationship?” Dan began, before Phil simply answered, “Yes.”
Dan then joked: “Alright, bye.”
He went on to explain: “We fell into it hard and fast in 2009. It was so fast that we never labeled it. We just ended up living together and here we are!”
Phil added: “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.”
Dan admitted he was “so deep in the closet” in his twenties that they felt pressured to keep their relationship private.
“We had to hide the relationship because I was still hiding who I was to my friends, family, myself,” he said. “A big reason why I've been like I never wanna talk about this is I wouldn't handle people's reactions.”
Phil said he “felt like I'd gone back in a mini closet in a way, which was weird. I knew this was all very sensitive, uncomfortable and scary for you. So I kind of just wanted to give you time to figure out what you wanted to do.”
The pair said they kept their romance private to protect their creative brand, wanting viewers to know them as a comedy duo rather than boyfriends.
“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.” Dan explained.
Phil continued: “Being funny, entertaining. Let's be honest, there's a lot of homophobia out there.”
To which Dan added: "There's a lot of straight guys that would simply have never watched us on YouTube because it made them uncomfortable.”
Dan came out publicly in 2019, followed by Phil later that year, but neither addressed the status of their relationship at the time.
After years of solo projects — including Dan’s We’re All Doomed comedy tour and Phil’s YouTube expansion — the pair have reunited for a new creative chapter, announcing The Dan and Phil Podcast.
“15 years of suppressing all of these stories and opinions and they're finally gonna come out,” Phil joked.
