Dan Howell and Phil Lester finally hard launched their relationship and are crash-landing in Auckland this month.
Dan Howell and Phil Lester are all-time legends of the internet. Since posting their first YouTube video together from a bedroom 17 years ago, they have conquered the globe, racking up billions of views, millions of followers and breaking new ground across multiple fields – from international number-one bestselling books and mind-blowing theatrical stage shows on sold-out world tours to award-winning TV and radio broadcasting.
Their comedy videos and online personas haven’t just provided levity and entertainment over the years. Through their openness about mental health and their queer identities, they have also become a source of support and much-needed representation for young people around the world.
Dan and Phil helped shape much of social media culture as we know it today and belong to a pantheon of all-time, internet-breaking fandoms whose influence can only be matched by some of the biggest music artists and fictional franchises.
For years, the question of whether the pair were secretly dating fuelled the legendary ‘Phan’ conspiracy. As Dan told Variety, “I think ‘Are Dan and Phil secretly dating?’ was a conspiracy that defined an entire generation.”
The pair eventually came out in separate YouTube videos in June 2019, sharing deeply personal experiences that resonated with fans who had grown up watching them. At the time, however, they did not confirm their romantic relationship.
Dan and Phil last toured New Zealand in 2024. Ahead of that tour, they spoke to YOUR EX, telling us to “mind your business” when asked for an update on their dating status. Then, in October 2025, the pair brought social media to a standstill once again when they finally went public with their long-rumoured relationship, confirming they had been together since 2009.
Since then, they’ve launched their chart-topping Hard Launch podcast, which won the Listeners’ Choice Award at the British Podcast Awards last month. The podcast offers an unfiltered new space where they can finally be their truest, funniest selves. Now, they’re bringing that energy to the road with a massive 65-date world tour.
Having grown up with (or, some would say, raised) an entire generation online, they’re turning up the volume when the world needs it most: proud, unapologetic and more unfiltered than ever, and coming to a stage near you.
In this unhinged and unafraid new era, join Dan and Phil live for their explosive new stage show – a much-needed night of outrageous oversharing, screaming with laughter and celebrating the fact that we’re all still here and we made it.
This show is for everyone – from casual podcast listeners and friends and family who lost bets to the fans who have been there since the beginning!
Dan and Phil bring their Hard Launch World Tour to Auckland’s Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre on Wednesday 11 November. Tickets are available from ticketmaster.co.nz.
