A Brief History Of Dan and Phil As They Announce Their Relationship

Dan and Phil were among the most popular YouTubers of the 2010s – and with that status, unsurprisingly – came a lot of questions about their relationship status, and relationship to each other.

Well, fans have finally got their answer this week as the pair revealed they have, in fact, been dating for the past 16 years. Cute!

Let’s take a look back at their careers and relationship over the years.

Back in 2006, Phil launched his YouTube channel AmazingPhil – and as a fan of his videos, Dan reached out to him and the pair soon became online friends.

Dan and Phil first met in person in 2009 and made their first video together on AmazingPhil featuring Dan’s account, Danisnotonfire. The video ‘Phil is not on fire’ was a Q&A video format, which later became a ten-part yearly series of the two answering various types of questions.

And so began the launch of one of the internet’s most esteemed creative partnerships.  When discussing their relationship in their recent video Dan stated that, “We fell into it hard and fast in 2009, and here we are, almost 16 years later,”

 

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As their popularity continued to grow, Dan and Phil moved in together in Manchester while Dan was at university in 2011. They were two years into their concealed relationship when something happened: almost “a relationship breaking point for [them].”

Due to a glitch on YouTube, a year old video that was private on Phil’s account suddenly went public. The video was a Valentine’s Day message from Phil which caused great speculation among fans. Luckily, the pair were able to move past this incident and continue their relationship on their own terms.

In 2012, the pair moved to London together and continued to create collaborative content on their respective channels, both of them nearing a million subscribers.

 

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The following year, they launched the Dan and Phil show on BBC Radio 1, which only brought more attention to their profiles and relationship. As their channels skyrocketed, they were nominated for a Teen Choice Award in 2014 and won Collaboration of the Year and Film of the Year at the British Online Creator Awards.

In 2014, they launched their joint gaming channel on YouTube, DanAndPhilGames, which reached 1 million subscribers in just one year. The channel featured the pair playing various games and became the fastest growing channel on YouTube at the time. The channel currently has almost 3 million subscribers.

Following years of success on YouTube and other platforms, came long breaks and a temporary hiatus at the end of 2018. It was announced that year that DanAndPhilGames would then be on an indefinite hiatus while the pair ventured off into separate endeavours.

 

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In 2019, ten years after their initial meeting, the pair individually released YouTube videos, in which they came out. Dan’s video, which was released first – was titled ‘Basically I’m Gay’ and Phil ‘s video ‘Coming Out To You’ followed two weeks later. They mentioned a potential romantic involvement at the beginning of their friendship but kept the details and status under wraps.

The pair were essentially inactive in 2020, but did a livestreaming event at the end of the year on Stereo, sharing that they had bought a house together. Come 2021, Dan and Phil uploaded their first bit of joint content since 2018 as they moved into their new home.

In 2023, the pair revived the DanAndPhilGames channel as well as sharing a reaction to the first video filmed together, 14 years since they first met.

 

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In 2024, the pair did a charity livestream on Phil’s birthday to raise money for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, and did so again for Dan’s birthday later in the year. To celebrate their return following their hiatus, they began their Terrible Influence Tour to launch their new era – which wrapped up in early 2025.

That brings us to the release of this week’s video titled  ‘Are Dan and Phil in a Relationship?’ which essentially confirms their 16 year long romance that came about when they first met. Dan clarified, “It was so fast that we never labeled it. We just ended up living together and here we are.”

Now that their relationship has been confirmed the pair are optimistic about their future both personally and professionally. We’re only delighted for them as they enter this new era of their public relationship!

Words by Leah Foran