Vanessa Hudgens and Austin Butler split after nearly nine years together

Our first big celebrity breakup of 2020 has arrived and it’s a toughie. Super-cute couple Vanessa Hudgens and Austin Butler have reportedly called it quits after nearly nine years together, an impressive amount of time for any couple, let alone two young actors in Hollywood. Their romantic relationship may be over, but we still call it a success.People broke the story on Tuesday, with a source close to the pair confirming their split. Neither Hudgens or Butler nor their reps have commented on the split, which comes as a surprise for a couple who frequently posted about one another on social media and praised their partner in interviews. The pair had appeared to slow down on their sharing in recent months, with Hudgens’ last image of the couple together posted back in October for Halloween. Posing on a couch along with Hudgens’ dog Darla in front of a tree-filled backdrop, Hudgens captioned the pic “Happy Halloween from my family to yours.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

??happy Halloween from my family to yours??

A post shared by ?Vanessa Hudgens? (@vanessahudgens) on Oct 31, 2019 at 11:10am PDT

The couple met in 2005 when Hudgens was starring in High School Musical. Butler was doing background work for the film and became friends with Hudgens’ co-star and best friend Ashley Tisdale. Hudgens was dating her High School Musical co-star Zac Efron at the time, whom she was with until 2010. Tisdale and Butler co-starred in the 2009 film Aliens In The Attic and later played love interests in the High School Musical spinoff Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure. Tisdale reintroduced the pair in 2011 after Hudgens split with Efron, telling People in 2016 “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.”The couple have spent much of their relationship apart due to filming schedules. Butler shot two seasons of The Shannara Chronicles in New Zealand, while Hudgens starred in Netflix’s The Princess Switch 2, which filmed in the UK. Hudgens posted about the pair’s ongoing long distance status back in 2017, hashtagging a photo of the pair kissing with #longdistancesucks.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Missing this guy. #mcm #longdistancesucks

A post shared by Vanessa Hudgens (@vanessahudgens) on Mar 20, 2017 at 10:53am PDT

More recently, Hudgens was on hand to support Butler at the red carpet premiere of his latest film Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood, which featured the actor as a member of the Manson Family.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

And we’re OFF!!!! To the @onceinhollywood premiere with my man of the hour @austinbutler

A post shared by Vanessa Hudgens (@vanessahudgens) on Jul 22, 2019 at 5:50pm PDT

Hudgens made her first post-breakup appearance just hours after news of the pair’s split broke on Tuesday night, walking the red carpet at the premiere of her latest film Bad Boys For Life. The actor went with an old Hollywood glam look as she smiled for cameras and took selfies with co-stars Charles Melton and Alexander Ludwig.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Hey Siri, show me the definition of ‘unbothered.’ #VanessaHudgens rocks the carpet at last night’s @badboys premiere solo following the news of her split with Austin Butler, before snapping some selfies with costars #CharlesMelton and #AlexanderLudwig #badboysforlife #badboys (: Getty Images)

A post shared by etalk (@etalkctv) on Jan 15, 2020 at 5:08am PST

As for Butler, he’s currently in Australia filming Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming biopic of Elvis Presley. Butler was announced as the lead in the film in 2019, with Hudgens happily sharing the news on Instagram.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

I AMMMM OVERRRR THE FUCKING MOOOOOOOOONNNNN. I CANT WAIT SO PROUD OF MY HONEYYYYY!!!

A post shared by Vanessa Hudgens (@vanessahudgens) on Jul 15, 2019 at 9:03am PDT