Martin Short addresses Meryl Streep dating rumours after their Golden Globes encounter

The Hollywood rumour mill is at full force after the Golden Globe awards, with one unlikely couple at the centre of it all.

Only Murders in the Building co-stars Martin Short and Meryl Streep were the subject of online speculation after their friendly encounter at the awards, with X, formerly Twitter, users fanning the flames.

"Are Meryl Streep and Martin Short dating… because if that's true… that's like Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner multiplied by Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft…" comedy writer Louis Virtel posted to the platform.

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"Sitting with the knowledge that Meryl Streep and Martin Short might be in love but I have no proof," said another.

But all hope was lost after Short's representatives told The Messenger today that the on-screen couple are "just very good friends, nothing more."

The pair both earned Golden Globes nominations for their respective roles on the show, with Short playing theatre producer Oliver Putnam and Streep playing the failed actress he discovers, Loretta Durkin.

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Short was nominated alongside co-star Steve Martin for Best Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy while Streep was nominated for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film.

The relationship rumours come after Streep announced in October last year that she had been separated from her husband, sculptor Don Gummer for six years.

The news was confirmed by a representative for Streep in a statement to People at the time.

"Don Gummer and Meryl Streep have been separated for more than six years, and while they will always care for each other, they have chosen lives apart," a representative for Streep told the outlet.

Short was married to Canadian actress Nancy Dolman for 30 years before her death in 2010 as a result of ovarian cancer.