Vanessa Hudgens Reportedly Has A New Boyfriend! Here's The Scoop

A year after news of her split from longtime boyfriend Austin Butler was announced, it seems as though Vanessa Hudgens is reportedly now dating Cole Tucker. And it's not casual. "They are boyfriend and girlfriend," a source reportedly told E! News on Jan. 5. "They rang in the New Year together."

News of Hudgens' romance with Tucker first broke on Nov. 22, 2020 when the pair was spotted on what very much appeared to be a date in Laurel Canyon, California. "They had a romantic dinner outside under the stars," an eyewitness reportedly told E! News at the time. "They shared wine and food and had a great two-hour meal. Vanessa was giddy with laughter. She was looking over at Cole and couldn't contain her smile."

Need more detail on who the heck Hudgens' rumored new boyfriend is? I got you. Tucker is a shortstop and outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates (in other words, he's a professional baseball player). Outside of his career, the 24-year-old also just so happens to be a High School Musical fan. Well, at least he was back in high school. I know this because, after they were spotted out on that "romantic dinner," some sleuthy fans found a 2012 tween in which a 15-year-old Tucker wrote, "in search of: A girl who's down to watch High School Musical with me and scratch my back."

And would ya look at that. Now, almost a decade later, Tucker is reportedly dating the literal star of the teen movie he was just hoping to find someone to watch with him. Dream big, people!

News of Tucker and Hudgens reportedly becoming official comes about a year after news broke of her split from Austin Butler, with whom she'd been for eight years. “Vanessa and Austin are officially broken up, and Vanessa has been telling those close to her about their breakup,” a source reportedly told Us Weekly on Jan. 14, 2020. The news was confirmed by a second source who reportedly spoke to People later that day. Three days later, she made her first red carpet appearance since the news of her split broke and it was nothing short of iconic. Case in point:

In a Nov. 17 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Hudgens opened up about the kind of guy she's looking for in her next relationship. "Your girl's open," she said. "I feel like at the end of the day, it's just about having similar fundamentals and wanting the same things. Like, I am not picky, really... Like, I know what I want and I'm like, if someone comes into the picture and can give me all those things, then great, it doesn't matter if they're in the public eye or not — if anything I prefer them not to be, but we'll see, we'll see."

Here's to hoping Tucker is able to check those boxes.