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YouTubers Dan and Phil Confirm Romance After 16 Years of Secret

After years of speculation, YouTube duo Dan and Phil have officially confirmed their romantic relationship, which has been going strong since 2009.

Liputan6.com, Jakarta Recently, YouTube duo Dan Howell and Phil Lester finally officially confirmed their romantic relationship.

The two announced that they had been romantically linked since 2009.

The momentous announcement was made in a video uploaded on October 13, 2025, to their collaborative YouTube channel, "Dan and Phil."

Beginning the video, Howell sat down on camera saying, "Alright, let's get this over with. Are Dan and Phil in a relationship?" to which Lester responded, point-blank, "Yes."

"Alright, bye," Howell said, jokingly standing up to leave the frame. "Oh, sorry, you wanted more, did you?"

Jokingly, Lester responded, "Stop telling me how long it was. So yeah, relationship, boyfriends."

Dan Howell added that their relationship has been going "fast and strong" since they first met in 2009.

This means that, as of October 2025, Dan and Phil have been together for almost 16 years.

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What's The Reason for the Relationship Secrecy?

The decision to keep their romantic relationship secret for so many years was not without reason.

Dan Howell explained that he disliked the concept of being "put in a box" or having certain labels that could limit him.

Concerns about the negative impact on their careers if they broke up were also a major consideration.

Phil Lester also revealed that keeping this secret has significantly impacted their social lives and career paths.

Dan added that in his 20s, he felt the need to keep the relationship secret because he was still figuring out his identity, both from friends, family, and himself.

Furthermore, both were concerned that viewers would focus solely on their personal relationship, rather than on the video content they produced.

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Dan and Phil's Relationship Journey

Dan Howell and Phil Lester's story began online in 2009, before they finally met in person in October of that year.

Since August 2011, the two have lived together, initially in Manchester before moving to London in July 2012.

Of their relationship, Lester continued on in the recent video, "No, it's not always perfect. Don't get it into your head that we are the ideal of human partnerships."

"We have had ups and downs like anybody," Howell added. "We have lived a thousand lifetimes of a normal person's partnership and I have no idea why we've survived."

In January 2021, Dan and Phil announced another milestone: they purchased and designed the home they now live in.

They also publicly came out as gay in a YouTube video in June 2019, a significant step in their personal journeys.

Professionally, they returned to active life in 2024 with the launch of their third joint tour, "Terrible Influence," which ran successfully until early 2025.

The duo also revived their YouTube gaming channel, which had been on hiatus since 2018.

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Dan and Phil's Future

Despite confirming their romantic relationship, Dan and Phil have emphasized that they will not be changing their content format.

They stated that they will not be "couple vloggers in bed" or display excessive affection on camera, maintaining the focus on their existing content.

As their next joint project, they announced the launch of a podcast titled "The Dan and Phil Podcast."

"15 years of suppressing all of these stories and opinions and they're finally gonna come out," Lester joked.

To date, Dan Howell and Phil Lester are not married.