Vanessa Hudgens Reflects on ‘Life-Changing’ Relationships With Zac Efron, Austin Butler

Reflecting on the past. Vanessa Hudgens got candid about her high-profile relationships with High School Musical costar Zac Efron and Elvis star Austin Butler in a new interview with Nylon published Monday, September 12, alleging there’s more to the story when it comes to what fans know about her respective splits with Zac, 34, and Austin, 31.

“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,” she told the outlet, adding, “When I write my memoir, it’ll be amazing.”

The 33-year-old Princess Switch actress also opened up about rediscovering herself in her late 20s, revealing that she started doing shadow work – a form of therapy that involves working with one’s unconscious mind to help uncover repressed parts of oneself, per Healthline – years ago.

“I realized how much of myself I gave away to others, when I actually was giving away and turning off pieces of myself,” she explained to the outlet. “When you get older, the sexier boundaries are.”

Vanessa and Zac first met in 2005 on the set of the beloved Disney Channel Original Movie, High School Musical, and dated for nearly five years before going their separate ways in December 2010.

“It’s nothing dramatic. There’s no third party involved,” a source told E! News at the time.

Added another source: “They were together for so long. It just ran its course.”

After splitting with the Greatest Showman actor, the Netflix star got together with Austin in 2011, and the pair dated for nearly a decade before calling it quits in 2020. Though the Carrie Diaries alum tends to keep his personal life private, Austin briefly addressed his and Vanessa’s breakup during an interview with GQ published in May.

“Life is full of changes, and you’ve got to find a way to constantly be evolving and growing,” he told the outlet when asked about his former flame. 

The Rent: Live actress is currently dating Arizona Diamondbacks player Cole Tucker, whom she met during a “celebrity meditation Zoom group” in 2020. The pair went Instagram official on Valentine’s Day in 2021.

“I’m not going to call it a celebrity Zoom, but it was a Zoom meditation group that Joe Jonas put together, yes,” she told Nylon. “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 f— is that?’”