Over the summer, Zendaya and Tom Holland got a Doberman puppy, with the news flying very much under the radar in celebrity pet news. Also Zendaya had a serious stalker situation this year that also didn’t get much press either. The couple is known to keep their personal life private and haven’t posted anything about the stalker, and just two photos the couple has shared on Instagram so far. But a few paparazzi photos of Tom walking their Doberman have been published.
Named after Zendaya’s grandmother, Daphne is currently a cute lil’ puppy. But she’s actually the couple’s security dog in training. The Daily Mail said it’s thought the pup was supplied by Protection Dogs Worldwide, a high-end U.K.-based canine security firm.
While the photos Tom posted of Daphne are fun, their reason for getting a security dog is extremely serious. Via reporting from The Daily Beast, Zendaya had a stalker sending “thousands of messages,” causing her to “Put security measures in place for herself and her partner Tom Holland.” While the stalker situation was on going, the couple was seen with a bodyguard. After the stalker was sentenced, the dog-loving couple decided on a long-term solution of having a guard dog.
Sure celebrities get tons of unsolicited messages all the time, so you might wonder if this is really necessary? On top of being in the thousands, the content of the stalker’s messages was disturbing and threatening. They included “pornographic photomontages,” and threats of kidnapping and r*ape. The stalker, who lives in France, was sentenced in France where part of the trial proceedings were made public. The Daily Beast went on to report, “Read aloud in Rennes Criminal Court, one message sent to the star threatened the star with his knowledge of the Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport, into which she was flying, and said that if he didn’t hear from her within 24 hours of receiving his message, ‘she will tremble.'”
After initially getting hospitalized for psych treatment, the stalker continued his harassment. Then in May 2024, he was re-arrested and immediately sentenced to a five-year term in a high-security hospital. So let’s hope the celebrity couple can get on with their lives (and post more about Daphne!) Tom and Zendaya also share a mini Schnauzer named Noon. They also shared a rescued staff named Tessa, who passed away in March 2024.
