You’re cordially invited to the wedding of Hollywood stars Zendaya and Tom Holland, with viral photos of them looking blissfully happy as they exchange vows. The only problem? The images you’re seeing on your socials are fake.
Dozens of the AI generated photos have been posted online, making people think they’re really seeing images that show the couple getting married. They’ve had millions of likes, and some have said it’s difficult to tell if they’re real or not.
So how did it all start and why are the photos being shared? BBC Bitesize Other Side of the Story pulled back the (imaginary) veil to find out more.
What’s the story behind the Zendaya and Tom Holland AI wedding photos?
Speculation that a wedding between the two celebrities was imminent began to gain traction online after Zendaya was spotted with a diamond ring on the fourth finger of her left hand at the 2025 Golden Globes. This is the finger where an engagement ring is traditionally worn.
A few months later, the actor referred to Zendaya as his “fiancée” during a public appearance at a panel discussion.
The AI photos emerged after Zendaya’s stylist Law Roach said “the wedding has already happened” and that we “missed it” while speaking to Access Hollywood on the red carpet at the 2026 Actor Awards on 1 March.
What have Tom and Zendaya said?
There has been no confirmation about a wedding from the couple themselves - information straight from the source is always a good way to verify a story.
When assessing the authenticity of celebrity images, we also need to consider who shared the photo and for what purpose. Has it come from an official account or been shared by a verified source like a reputable photo agency or a trusted news outlet?
While there’s been no comment from Zendaya or Tom Holland, this wasn’t enough to prevent people from taking their interest in the wedding a step further and creating AI photos.
What do the photos show?
At first glance, the photos look pretty realistic. They show a smiling Zendaya and Tom in their wedding outfits and the couple exchanging vows - all against a background that looks like Lake Como.
Photos shared by a creator called AK on X on 4 March also appeared to show Robert Downey Jr, Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Jake Gyllenhaal at the wedding. This post has had 102,000 likes.
Digital creator Juan Regueira Rodriguez posted a photo dump of wedding day images on Instagram, one of them showing “Tom” holding a Spider Man mask. It’s had 11 million likes so far and more than 16,000 comments.
The caption says the images have been created with AI as an “artistic recreation” but some people appear to have been fooled and have commented to say congratulations. Others have been less impressed and said they can’t believe an AI image has had so many likes. One of these comments on Instagram said: “AI slop getting 10 million likes… what has the world come to”.
Some have remarked on how it can be difficult to tell the difference between AI and real photos as technology advances. One person questioned: “It’s real?” while another wrote: “Can’t tell if it’s AI”.
Why are AI photos like this created?
Sharing these photos may be wish fulfilment on the part of fans who feel invested in the romance between the two actors. Tom and Zendaya very rarely share information about their relationship, creating a vacuum into which people sometimes project their own ideas of what they want to see happen.
People tend to believe posts like this when it’s something they want. Posts that carry misinformation often go viral because they contain images and stories that are exaggerated to deliberately hook our attention - even when fans know it’s unlikely to be real.
Tom and Zendaya aren’t the only celebrities to have big moments from their lives imagined in the form of AI images.
YouTuber Joe Sugg recently spoke out after photos on social media showed him and partner Dianne Buswell with their newborn baby. However the images were also AI generated - and at the time they were shared Dianne hadn’t given birth.
How to spot if celebrity photos are real or AI
While AI images are increasingly realistic, a tell-tale sign is that small details are often wrong - one of the photos that’s been widely shared shows Zendaya with a wedding ring on each hand.
Always be wary of photos that look too perfect, have an inconsistent focus and features that seem overly smooth.
Another way to check an image is by running a Reverse Image Search to see where else the image has been posted. Learn how to spot AI images on social media here.
This article was published in March 2026
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