YouTubers Dan and Phil Are Actually a Couple — Here's When They Met

When YouTuber co-stars Dan Howell and Phil Lester first started making content together over a decade ago, they likely had no idea just how big they would become in the influencer sphere.

But the British duo has charmed, wowed, and entertained their fans for years, cementing their place in YouTube history with nearly 3 million subscribers.

However, through the years, fans have always pressed them for an answer on one topic in particular: are Dan and Phil dating? And the good news is that they finally answered decisively: yes, Dan and Phil are dating.

Here's what we know about how they first met, as well as why they decided to come out as a couple after flying so long under the radar.

The iconic duo's roots stretch back all the way to 2006. According to the duo's fandom tracking website, The Phandom, Dan and Phil first met in 2006 when Phil was building his channel in the early days of YouTube and Dan was contemplating starting his own.

They appeared on one another's channels after Dan reached out to Phil via X (formerly Twitter) and met in person for the first time at the Manchester Piccadilly railway station near Phil's house.

And, it would seem, they fell in love. Three years after they first met, sparks were flying. In a Dan and Phil video they released in October 2025 titled, "Are Dan and Phil in a relationship?" Dan explained, "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! almost 16 years later," he added, "We are just more compatible with each other than anyone we will ever meet.”

Phil agreed, but added that things weren't always perfect between them, sharing, "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."

Fans have long suspected the two were a couple, but they finally confirmed things in October 2025 and offered a little insight into why they chose to come forward.

Dan officially came out as gay in 2019 and struggled to admit to his relationship with Phil in public due to the homophobia he experienced as a child.

He explained in the video confirming their relationship, "What we had was the most important thing to me and I wanted to protect it. So when other people tried to grab it and drag it into the light, I felt completely violated."

The duo shared that they chose to finally share their relationship status because they felt like they were still living in the closet. And now, they will be talking about the past 15 years in a podcast.

"We can't live in fear anymore," Dan explained. And although the duo acknowledged that it was a scary time for the world, they felt it was more important than ever to share the fact that they are gay.

Dan shared, "We have been held back from doing this for so many years 'cause of all the past trauma and terror of what could happen in the future." Phil added, "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."