Another Hollywood couple bites the dust and breaks the hearts of all those who were rooting for them. A few months ago, Vanessa Hudgens and Austin Butler called it quits, but their breakup is a bit more painful. The pair were together for a considerably long time. Prior to this, fans of the former Disney star were heavily invested in her relationship with Zac Efron. To see her and the future Elvis Presely separate is quite sad and shocking. But what exactly happened? Here’s a look back at the former couple’s relationship and where it all went wrong.
Videos by Suggest
Vanessa Hudgens and Austin Butler’s Epic Love Story
Apparently, Butler and Hudgens met in 2005 on the set of High School Musical. As a quick recap, Hudgens’ played the main character, Gabriella Montez, the new girl that captures the heart of Efron’s character, Troy Bolton. At the time, Hudgens was still dating Efron, but she remained friends with Butler. In September 2011, reports of a romance between the two began to circulate the internet when they were both seen kissing over milkshakes. Austin Butler was also spotted leaving Vanessa Hudgens’ home in Los Angeles.
By January 2012, the two were spotted on a double-date with Danielle Panabaker and her boyfriend at Disneyland. In February 2012, the couple appeared on the red carpet together at the premiere of Hudgens’ movie, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.
For the next year, the couple continued to make red carpet appearances together but never officially commented on their relationship. In 2014, it was confirmed by Hudgens that the two were indeed together after she posted a picture on her Instagram.
Butler and Vanessa Hudgens continued going strong. The actress supported Butler when his mom tragically passed away in September 2014 from cancer. In 2015, Hudgens opened up about her relationship with Butler during an interview with Entertainment Tonight. “It’s important to put that other person first,” the actress said. She added, “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.”
Where did it all go wrong?
In February 2016, Vanessa Hudgens’ father passed away from cancer as well, and of course Austin Butler was there supporting her. The day her father passed, the actress performed on Grease: Live and dedicated her performance as Rizzo in his honor. Butler tweeted his support and praise for his then-girlfriend.
The next few years, the two were still going strong. There were photos of them from all over, revealing the two kissing and showing a lot of PDA. Because the two were together for so long, rumors of an engagement began to pop up. But this, of course, was not true. In July 2019 it was announced the Butler would be playing the King of Rock and Roll in an upcoming biopic. Hudgens immediately shared her excitement and support on her social media.
However, according to several outlets, the couple did not spend the holidays together last year. In January 2020, it was reported that the two had split. While sources close to the couple state that “distance” and their current schedules were due to the reason the two separated, neither Butler or Hudgens have come out themselves to state the reason why.
Interestingly enough, Vanessa Hudgens did speak on her relationship with Austin Butler one last time before the two broke up. “It’s eight years this year — FaceTime, good communication, respect and trust [are what keep us going],” Hudgens said to Cosmopolitan UK. “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,” the actress shared with the outlet.
Here’s to hoping that this love story isn’t completely over!