Not many Disney couples can claim to have a longstanding, successful relationship.
One of the rare, and perhaps only, duos was Vanessa Hudgens and Austin Butler . The pair
remained together for nearly nine years!
Fans’ hopes were high for a lifetime of love for the couple.
Unfortunately, that came to a screeching halt when they broke up.
From being Coachella) lovers to having successful careers to managing a long-distance relationship
– we have it all for you.
Austin Butler has the internet buzzing with his incredible transformation into the King
of Rock and Roll in Baz Luhrmann's) new film about Elvis Presley).
Before the actor landed his breakout role, though, he was known for two reasons.
One is playing the love interest in the Sex and the City prequel series The Carrie) Diaries
and two is for couple goals with Vanessa Hudgens.
This love story begins in 2005…
well, kind of.
The couple first crossed paths on the set of High School Musical, even though Butler
wasn’t in the film.
At the time, sparks were flying on set between Hudgens and her co-star, Zac Efron , whom
she dated for five years before calling it quits in 2010.
But the Elvis actor and actress still maintained a friendship the entire time.
Just shy of a year after her split from Zac, Austin and Vanessa officially started dating,
five years into their friendship.
Rumors were sparked when the Zoey 101 actor was spotted leaving her home and that same
week, they were caught packing on the PDA.
At the time, a friend said it was a friends-with-benefits situation.
The pair always had a private streak, so they didn’t address the rumors for a long time.
The couple was seen in 2012 attending their first Coachella together.
They didn’t shy away from PDA at the festival either.
Austin and Vanessa were seen cozying up to one another and didn’t let go of each other’s
hands the entire afternoon.
After three years of dating, they solidified their relationship when they became Instagram
official!
And, of course, it didn’t come as a shock to anyone!
Vanessa posted a sweet birthday tribute for her boyfriend that said,
"Yesterday was the love of my life's birthday.
Happy birthday to the man with the kindest heart, beautiful soul, crazy talent, and best
looks I've ever seen.
He never stops inspiring me in every aspect of life and always lifts those around him
up higher.
I thank God so greatly for blessing the world 23 years ago by creating Austin Butler."
It wasn’t long until fans and Hollywood were beginning to realize this could be the
real deal.
Butler spoke about what made his relationship with Hudgens work so well, and let’s just
say, his answer had everyone gushing.
“It’s important to put that other person first.
If you’re constantly looking for ways that you can make them happy, and they’re constantly
looking for ways that they can make you happy, then you kind of lift each other up as much
as possible and you can’t go wrong,” he said.
Doesn’t that just melt your heart?
The couple didn’t always have their heads in the clouds, they supported each other through
some of the most difficult things one can go through.
In 2014, Austin’s mother, Lori Butler, passed away after battling cancer.
“Lori Butler, my mom, my hero, & my best friend passed away this morning.
Let’s all celebrate her.
I love you and will miss you every day Mom.”
Vanessa tweeted in support of her boyfriend and the loss of his mom, writing, “I miss
you already mama.
Spread the love for Lori.”
And the support was given right back to the actress less than two years later.
Ever the double threat, The Princess Switch actress made her debut as Rizzo in Grease:
Live.
She made headlines with her unfathomable professionalism for choosing to perform even after her father’s
death the night before the premiere.
Just hours before she was set to perform, Vanessa revealed that her father had passed
away after battling stage four cancer.
Hudgens then shared that she would be performing the three-hour live telecast in his honor.
Butler showed his support by tweeting “Wow, Vanessa Hudgens singing Worst Things had me
in tears.
Just brilliant.”
Having each other meant the duo would not let what life threw at them, keep them down.
A few weeks after the passing of Vanessa’s dad, the couple took a trip to Sedona, Arizona
. It was here that they landed themselves in hot water – but for good reason…
well, for them at least.
They carved their names and a heart into one of the red rocks.
The actress posted the carving to Instagram, sparking an investigation by the Red Rock
Ranger District of the Coconino National Forest.
She deleted the post from Instagram and paid a $1,000 fine for the offense.
Another hardship The Carrie Diaries actor and his girlfriend had to go through was managing
a long-distant relationship.
In honor of Man Crush Monday, the High School Musical actress posted a photo that was captioned,
“Long distance sucks.”
She also discussed how they coped with it all and what the longest they haven’t seen
each other was.
“The longest we’ve been apart was four months.
It sucks!
You start hating hearing yourself say 'I miss you.'
But if it’s your person, you make it work,” she said.
Butler had to film The Shannara Chronicles in New Zealand and Hudgens spoke about how
the couple maintains their long-distance relationship.
"Just communication, communication is key.
I think that if anything's bothering you, don't hold it in.
Always bring it up and just talk about it.
Uncensor yourself and just be open," she said.
The pair were together for 6 years at this point, so it was only natural for fans to
wonder when Austin would pop the big question.
Rumors of an engagement spiraled when Vanessa posted a photo showing off her new haircut.
Instead of her hair, though, her followers focused on a diamond ring on her finger.
The actress later tweeted the photo and cleared the air saying she wasn’t engaged, and she
just happened to throw her ring on that finger after a long day of filming.
This wasn’t to say that the Beastly actress wasn’t looking forward to the possibility
of getting engaged to her long-time love.
Hudgens addressed the engagement reports in an interview, telling fans that they shouldn't
get their hopes up anytime soon.
She also addressed whether the speculation had put pressure on the pair.
"If I felt pressure in a relationship, we wouldn't have been together for almost seven
years.
Each couple has their own journey.
Everyone’s clock is different.
I do want to get married, travel, then have kids — probably in my late 30s,” she said.
Well said, V!
Their fans were waiting with bated breath to see the couple take the next step, but
they were also loving every moment they shared about their relationship.
Austin’s girlfriend attributed the success of their relationship to the fact that the
Elvis actor inspires her to be better.
"He inspires me more than anyone.
He’s a wonderful supporter.
I think it's so important to have a person who is your rock.
We both respect, trust, and admire each other.
It's nice to have a best friend you can share victories with as well as losses,” she gushed.
The Shannara Chronicles alum was also inspired by his lover and gushed about her in interviews.
And, well, it melted our hearts!
“It’s hard for me to even put into words what that girl means to me.
I am so inspired by her every day, and I just love her to my core,” he said.
In 2019, it was announced that Butler would take on the role of Elvis Presley and Hudgens
was the first to share the news on Instagram and express how proud she was of him.
She said she was “over the fucking moon” and she was “so proud of her honey”.
However, things weren’t meant to be, and it was reported in early 2020 that the couple
had split up, just a month shy of their nine-year anniversary.
It was also just before production for Elvis kicked off.
Although the former couple has never publicly addressed their break-up, according to sources,
their respective busy schedules were a major factor in their decision to split.
They had apparently been discussing getting engaged prior to the breakup.
The pair really loved each other, but ultimately busy work schedules and travel put a strain
on the relationship.
A little over a month after Austin and Vanessa’s split, it was rumored that Austin struck up
a romance with his on-screen wife in Elvis, played by Olivia DeJonge . They were spotted
enjoying romantic dinners and strolling on the beach but neither ever confirmed the relationship
and haven’t been spotted together since filming wrapped.
Austin was then linked to French-American actress and model Lily-Rose Depp after they
were spotted making out on the streets of London.
Lily-Rose seemingly didn't pursue things with the up-and-coming actor as they have not been
spotted together since.
Since the end of 2021, Butler has been dating model, Kaia Gerber . There isn’t much on
the couple yet, but they do seem happily in love.
Vanessa, on the other hand, hit a home run when she met professional baseball star, Cole
Tucker.
The couple met on a Zoom meditation group, and she made the first move after seeing him.
"He's just kind of perfect for me.
If I want something or someone, I'm going after them.
I fully just slid into his DMs.
So, I think there is no shame in making the first move," she said.
Even though Austin and Vanessa have moved on, they still remain the best of friends.
They did share nine years of their lives together, after all.
The actor even gave his ex a shout-out earlier this year and discussed how it was thanks
to her that he went after the role in Elvis.
“I was actually driving up through Griffith Park and Elvis’s ‘Blue Christmas’ came
on.
I was singing along with it when my Vanessa had kind of an epiphany: ‘You need to play
Elvis,’” he said.
Vanessa Hudgens and Austin Butler truly were a Hollywood couple everyone wanted to see
end up together.
But it just wasn’t in the cards for them.
We are glad that they are both finding success after the breakup and that they have found
love again.
We cannot wait to see what the future holds for them and who knows, maybe it was the right
person at the wrong time.
Either way, let us know what you think led to the split between them in the comments
below.
As always, this has been Rumour Juice.