Throughout their time together, Vanessa Hudgens and Austin Butler were relationship goals! That’s why the former couple’s January 2020 split hit Hollywood so hard.
After nearly nine years together, Us Weekly confirmed that the duo had officially gone their separate ways. “Vanessa and Austin are officially broken up,” an insider told the publication at the time. “Vanessa has been telling those close to her about their breakup.”
According to the Daily Mail, Vanessa and Austin knew each other way before they started dating. In 2012, the publication reported that the pair first met on the set of the first High School Musical movie. Of course, Vanesa was dating former costar Zac Efron at the time. After #Zanessa split in 2010, the Grease Live actress moved on with Austin.
Rumors that Vanessa and Austin were more than friends started swirling in 2011, but it wasn’t until a year later that they took things public. The former flames made their red carpet debut at the premiere of Vanessa’s movie Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. Thanks to their PDA-filled pictures and flirty message to each other via social media, fans of the couple were quick to be obsessed with their love. Even Vanessa’s BFF Ashley Tisdale was on board with the relationship.
“I mean, it’s great because Austin was my best friend since way before they got together, so it’s just nice to have your two best friends be in a relationship,” she told People in July 2016. Ashley starred alongside Austin in the 2011 flick Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure.
When it came to their relationship, Vanessa made it clear that she and Austin were doing things on their own time. Especially, when it came to the possibility of marriage.
“I want to get married, travel, then have kids — probably in my late 30s,” the Spring Breakers star told Women’s Health in December 2018, noting that “everyone’s clock is different.”
While gushing over her other half during the same interview, Vanessa shared that Austin “inspires me more than anyone.”
“We both respect, trust and admire each other. It’s so solid now because I feel strong as an independent woman,” the Disney alum gushed. “I am very self-reliant, but it’s nice to have a best friend you can share victories with as well as losses.”
As for what led to their eventual split? Sources told E! News in January 2020 that distance caused the pair to call it quits. “They’re just shooting on two different continents and it’s a matter of distance,” the insider said. “There is no bad blood at all, and they have a lot of respect for each other.”
Scroll through our gallery to relive Vanessa and Austin’s complete relationship timeline.
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