Selena Gomez Went to Dinner With Zayn Malik's Assistant Two Days Before Their Rumored Date Night

There’s a potential new celebrity couple sending the social media rumor mill into a frenzy. Only Murders in the Building star Selena Gomez was reportedly spotted in a New York City restaurant with former One Direction singer Zayn Malik. While their outing could have been 100% platonic, new reports claim that the stars were getting extra cozy during their dinner date, and social media is losing its mind.

The rumor began after a TikTok surfaced of a woman claiming to have gotten the inside scoop on the duo’s dinner from her friend who worked as a server at the restaurant they were dining at. According to a screenshot of a text from the TikToker’s friend, Sel and Zayn walked into the restaurant “hand in hand” and were “making out.”

The paparazzi snapped pics of Selena leaving dinner with Zayn's assistant Tarny Zimmerman two days before the dinner date that ignited the latest rumors. Per pictures obtained by Page Six, Sel and Taryn walked side by side as they left Nobu in New York City on March 21.

According to Page Six, Sel and Zayn reportedly hooked up in the past. A source alleged that the superstars had a thing "way back" when Selena's bestie Taylor Swift dated Zayn's One Direction bandmate Harry Styles in 2012. "They had a thing a few years ago when Taylor and Harry were dating," the source explained. "It doesn't surprise me at all that they're potentially together [today]."

Another report by Us Weekly revealed that Zayn allegedly wants to "see where things go" with the Rare Beauty mogul. "Zayn has known Selena for years and he's definitely into her," an anonymous source told the publication. "He's always admired her and thinks she’s an incredible person, inside and out."

The insider added that the pair isn't "super serious" and that Selena is actively seeing other people. "However, Zayn would love to continue to see Selena and see where things go," they clarified before stating that the former One Direction crooner has been "focused on himself" since his split with Gigi Hadid in 2021. "He's feeling optimistic about the possibility of things growing between him and Selena but isn't putting any pressure on the situation," the source said. "He'd rather just let things progress organically and believes she feels the same."

Neither Selena nor Zayn has addressed the newfound ship rumors, but fans on social media did call out that the singer is one of the 18 people Sel actually follows on Instagram. Plus, interested fans did some digging and uncovered two receipts connecting the duo, one of which goes back 10 years.

During an interview with Extra back in 2013, Selena was told that all of the members of One Direction said that if they had to choose a celebrity kiss, it would be her. When asked which one of the five singers she would pick for a kiss, Selena said, “Zayn, maybe. That’s it.”