﻿Vanessa Hudgens and Cole Tucker are officially engaged,
and fans couldn't be happier for them. The couple has the ultimate modern love story
along with the most unexpected meet-cute. Vanessa has always known what she wanted
and was never going to compromise on her expectations in a relationship. Hudgens
was determined to find her perfect match, and she finally hit a home run with Tucker.
Vanessa Hudgens first met Cole Tucker in one of the most modern ways ever. The
pair were introduced during a zoom-based meditation session in 2020. Their virtual
meet-cute was certainly unexpected; it was the start of something new and wonderful.
Vanessa jokingly admitted: "Very random, yes! Zoom – you gotta love it."
The actress also recalled how Joe Jonas played a role in her introduction to Tucker.
She explained that the meditation group had been put together by Joe, and the last thing she
expected was to be smitten by a baseball player. She admitted, "I did not expect it at all. I don't
think if I entered a meditation Zoom, I'd be like, 'This is where I'll meet my person.' I just showed
up, and I was like, 'Who the fuck is that?'" It had been less than one year after her
split from longtime love Austin Butler. After their eight-year relationship came to an end,
Hudgens opened up about what she was looking for when it came to a partner.
She shared, "Your girl's open. I feel like; at the end of the day,
it's just about having similar fundamentals and wanting the same things. I am not picky, really."
Vanessa explained that she knows what she wants, and if someone comes into the picture that can
give her all of those things, "then great." She added, "It doesn't matter if they're in
the public eye or not. If anything, I prefer them not to be, but we'll see."
The actress felt drawn to Tucker during their online meeting and decided to take fate into
her own hands and reach out to him after the call. Vanessa admitted that if it wasn't for her
own enthusiasm for their chemistry, there might never have been a relationship between them.
She explained, "I found him, and we started talking. If I want something or someone,
I'm going after them. So I fully just slid into his DMs and was like, 'Hey,
it was nice to meet you.'" Adding confidently that there's "no shame in making the first move."
For those of you who don't know, Cole is a Major League Baseball player who played for
the Pittsburgh Pirates from his debut in 2019 until mid-2022. He was later linked
to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Reno Aces until the end of 2022 when he signed a minor
league deal with the Colorado Rockies. The pair were first spotted out together
in November 2020, igniting rumors of a possible budding romance. They were spotted getting cozy
during an outing in L.A. Hudgens could be seen wrapping her arms around Tucker as they enjoyed
a dinner date at the Canyon Country Store. Then, on Valentine's Day the following year,
Vanessa and Cole confirmed their relationship with an Instagram post on her account. The actress
shared a photo of the two of them kissing, along with the caption, "It's you. It's me. It's us."
After going public with their relationship, the couple has enjoyed documenting their growing
romance through cute photos on social media. Vanessa looked happier than ever,
and when she was asked what it was about Cole that made their relationship work,
she answered, "He's just kinda perfect for me." Hudgens continued to express her content, saying,
"I'm so so grateful. I think that it's also so important to stay grateful for everything you have
in life, and I've been making that a priority." She shared that her time with Tucker has been
like "making magic happen," and she's "very excited for life."
Cole also discussed his commitment to the actress during an MLB spring training interview,
saying, "I got a girlfriend, and she's cool. She's awesome; I love her."
The baseball player explained that he didn't want to make a big deal out of their relationship
because they felt just like any other couple. He explained, "But I don't want it to be, 'Oh, Cole's
dating Vanessa …' I don't want it to be treated any differently. She's great. She'll be around."
As their relationship grew to be more serious over the next few months, Vannessa believed that her
romance with Cole was something special. She shared, "I am happy. I really am."
For Hudgens, Tucker was her perfect mate. She gushed, "We're just, like, the same; we're very
similar. We're such weirdos; it's wonderful." When Cole began traveling for his games,
he and Vanessa were forced to have a long-distance relationship for a while. The couple had gotten
used to spending so much time together, so the distance was a difficult hurdle for them to work
through, but they managed to figure things out. Hudgens did her best to make it to as many
of his games as she could and would often share pictures on social media,
expressing endless pride over her man. During an interview with Shape in October 2021,
the actress shared that things between her and the athlete were going "better than I could have
dreamed of." Adding, "My relationship with myself is something I value deeply, even
if things don't always go the way I expected." Vanessa admitted, "I always thought I was going
to be married at 25" because her mother had gotten married at that age. At first, she was upset that
things hadn't worked out the way she had planned. She explained, "But I'm in such an amazing,
healthy relationship, so it doesn't matter." After almost a year together, Hudgens and
Tucker were "going strong" despite their conflicting schedules. A close friend of
the couple shared that they do their best to plan fun dates when they have the time,
and when they're not together, they always have video calls and talk throughout the day.
The pair attended the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in San Francisco in matching Star Wars
costumes. Vanessa shared a picture of her and Cole together, captioning it "Best. Weekend. Ever."
In November, the couple made their red carpet debut at the world premiere of Hudgens' movie
'Tick, Tick… Boom!' During an interview later that month, Vanessa described her relationship with
Cole as "the ultimate modern-day love story." She shared how much she loved supporting and
cheering Tucker on during his games. The actress says that he considers going to movie premieres
as her big game days where he can return the support that she'd been giving him.
She said, "He's like, 'It's game day, babe. It's so nice. I get to come to
your game.' And I'm like, 'Yes! Same thing.' It's great; he's amazing."
The actress also explained that her relationship with Tucker feels different from her past
romances, saying, "It's just easy. We're like the same person, but with different
interests," Adding, "We have the same spirit, I think. We're both just energetic. We want
to have a good time, easy, goofy. It's cool." In December, the couple celebrated the holidays
together, sharing pictures of their festive Christmas tree. A source close to the pair
shared that Hudgens and Tucker "are very in love" and "have gotten to the point of
their relationship where they have gotten serious and are committed to each other."
While she was "committed to her career and not in that headspace right now where she's
focusing on marriage," the source noted that it was possible he would "get down on
one knee and propose" because he is "quite the romantic." In the meantime, the couple viewed
moving in together as their "next step." Amid their busy schedules, they still found
time for one another. Vanessa and Cole were very understanding of each other's careers and made
sure to give each other space to be free and thrive. The couple had accepted the fact that
their lives, including their relationship, were in the spotlight despite both of them enjoying
their privacy. Their time apart only made their reunions that much more special and meaningful.
The end of December marked the couple's first year anniversary. Vanessa shared a celebratory
post on social media in honor of their first year together. The cute photo of the pair dressed up
was captioned, "1 year down. Love you." Tucker later commented under the post, "The best."
The couple brought in the New Year together. During Tucker's off-season
downtime, they made sure to go on all sorts of adventures. Hudgens also shared some pictures
of them going on a hiking date together, captioning, "Grounded and oh so happy,"
In April of 2022, Vanessa wished Cole the best of luck for the Major League Baseball Opening Day. A
few months later, Tucker was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks after playing for the Pittsburgh
Pirates since 2019. The move not only brought Cole back to his home state but also much closer
to Hudgens, who has been based in Los Angeles. The actress supported Tucker's move west in an
Instagram story about the news, saying both "Let's go baby" and "A great day indeed."
In honor of Tucker's birthday in July, Hudgens shared a heartfelt post on Instagram alongside
a handful of photos of them together. She wrote, "Who's a big birthday boy?!
I hope you don't mind that I put down in words… about how wonderful life is
now you're in the world. Happy birthday, baby." In February 2023, sources announced that Vanessa
and Tucker had gotten engaged in Paris. Just one week later, the actress confirmed the news
via Instagram, alongside a two-photo slideshow. She captioned, "YES. We couldn't be happier!"
For Valentines Day, Vanessa dedicated a post to her new fiancee, writing, "Real magnetic love
is out there. What a journey it was to get here, but so worth it to get to my forever.
Happy Valentine's Day." The picture showed Tucker kissing the actress on the cheek, and behind them
were gold balloons that said: "Mr. & Mrs." We're so happy that Vanessa and Cole found
each other. Their modern love story goes to show that you never know how you're going
to meet the love of your life. We wish these two love birds only the best for
their future together. Who knows, maybe you'll meet your soulmate at your next Zoom meeting!