YouTubers Dan and Phil confirm they've been in a relationship for 16 years

14 October 2025, 13:33 | Updated: 15 October 2025, 19:18

Dan and Phil open up about their relationship: "We&squot;re partners in everything." — Dan and Phil open up about their relationship: "We're partners in everything.". Picture: YouTube

By Katie Louise Smith

"We fell into it hard and fast in 2009 and here we are almost 16 years later."

Loading audio...

Iconic British YouTubers Dan Howell and Phil Lester have opened up about their relationship and confirmed that they've been dating since 2009.

If you're not well versed in the lore of British YouTubers, Dan and Phil are two very popular creators who built a huge audience thanks to their collaborative videos. From the start of their YouTube careers, the duo have also been subject to invasive speculation about their private lives, and have been "shipped" online by fans hoping they were dating.

In 2019, Dan opened up about his sexuality in a video and confirmed that he and Phil were romantically involved early on in their relationship. However, he declined to discuss the current status of their relationship out of respect for Phil. Shortly after, Phil came out in a video of his own.

Now, in a new video titled 'Are Dan and Phil in a Relationship?', they've opened up about their 16-year relationship, explained why they decided to keep their romance out of the public eye for so long and why they've decided to talk about it now.

Dan and Phil have been together since 2009. Picture: Dan and Phil via YouTube

Opening up about when their relationship started, Dan shared: "We fell into it hard and fast in 2009 and here we are almost 16 years later."

"It was so fast that we never labeled it, we just ended up living together and here we are," Dan added, before Phil joked: "Technically, we're not together because we never actually said it."

Elaborating, Dan continued: "We've been attached at the hip 24/7 for 15 years. Were any of you locked down with your partners? Did that make you wanna strangle each other or like totally hate everything? That has been us voluntarily, just 'cause we're nerds that don't leave the house."

"We have lived a thousand lifetimes of a normal person's partnership and I have no idea why we've survived," Dan continued.

"I don't think there's many examples of people that have been so scrutinised that have still stayed together," Phil said, making a joke about their shared trauma at the hands of the internet and invasive viewers.

Dan and Phil on forgiving the past and choosing joy

Elsewhere in the video, Dan and Phil addressed the Phan "conspiracy" from back in the day, where fans would ship them on Tumblr, write explicit fanfics about them, and speculate wildly and oftentimes inappropriately about their relationship.

It spiralled so out of control that 'fans' were contacting their families, digging through years worth of social media posts to find "evidence" that their theories were correct.

Dan called it "disheartening" to see that some viewers only cared about whether they were together, instead of how much effort they put into their videos. Phil even shared that the word 'Phan' used to make him feel "scared" but now he's "reclaimed it".

Throughout their careers, fans have "shipped" Dan and Phil online – and at some points it got incredibly invasive. Picture: via Twitter

At the end of the video, Dan and Phil explained that now they've shared the status of their relationship with their viewers, there will still be several boundaries in place.

"You don't need to know explicit details of arrangements or positions or permissions," Dan said, with Phil adding: "You gotta keep something vague."

Phil continued: "This does not mean we're gonna turn into couple vloggers in bed, or be like, romantic on camera."

"That is not yours," Dan clarified.

As for their 'new channel' and brand new podcast? "Same funny Dan and Phil as always, but now fully out and proud and unleashed," Phil explained.

"We have been held back from doing this for so many years because of all the past trauma and terror of what could happen in the future," Dan said. "But if you'll have us, we'd love to just finally be ourselves and do what we love, which is really how this should have been this whole time. And hope that you meet us with the same energy."