Topics: Disney, Zac Efron, High School Musical, Sex and Relationships
High School Musical fans were delighted when the on-screen romance of Troy and Gabriella spilled into real life with Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron, but sadly, it wasn't meant to be.
The duo originally started dating back in 2005, before calling it quits in December 2010, much to the heartbreak of Disney lovers.
Vanessa went on to date Austin Butler from 2011 to 2020, but she is now married to Cole Tucker and they are expecting their second baby.
Zac Efron, meanwhile, is believed to be single and was recently pictured on a boat looking rather cosy with Vampire Diaries star Nina Dobrev following her split from her fiancé.
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Nina has insisted that the pair are just friends, though, to the disappointment of fans who were hoping for a new couple to be excited about.
Now, Vanessa has spoken out about her relationship with Zac during High School Musical, despite usually keeping everything very private.
She told the Get Your Head In The Game podcast about the whole casting process for the movie, when she was just 16-years-old at the time and Zac was 18.
"There was one other girl there for Gabriella, one other guy there for Troy. We swapped, mixed and matched and yeah, that was it," she recalled.
She performed 'Angels' by Jessica Simpson and 'Reflection' from Mulan for her first audition, when she got the callback.
"Coming from a musical theater background, that was and still is where my heart remains, so, I was very excited," she continued her trip down memory lane.
Vanessa confessed her attraction to Zac was instant: "Of course I was a child and paired with this boy and I was like, 'Oh my god, he's so cute'. The chemistry was so real."
She said all of the coy glances at the beginning of the film were genuine, and that their chemistry on-and-off screen was true: "Yeah, it really does [help], especially when you're young and it's all sweet and innocent."
"It's so funny looking back, I was so innocent but I was also playing so innocent, so it was like the hat on the hat. Like, wow, she's really pure," she added.
"That totally was who I was, but the little rebellious teen side of me was like, 'No, this isn't me!'" she joked.
Vanessa shared how her relationships being under the spotlight has made her change the way she goes about them now.
She told Nylon: “The public only sees so much, I've also been through two very long life-changing relationships, and no one really knows what happened except for me."
“When I write my memoir, it'll be amazing," she joked.
She previouly told the She Pivots podcast that she doesn't regret her break-up from Austin: "I feel my last breakup has really catapulted me to a very, very special place, obviously," as she went on to meet and marry Cole.
'You pushed me to the right person,' which she is 'so grateful for', she said of meeting pro-baseball player Cole.
She previously confessed: "After our first weekend together, I called my sister, and I was like, 'I think I just found my future husband'. The foresight!”
