Vanessa Hudgens Is Engaged to MLB Star Cole Tucker

Vanessa Hudgens stole our hearts as Gabriella in the High School Musical franchise. Now, the actress has found her own happily ever after. The Disney Channel star is engaged to professional baseball player Cole Tucker, People confirms. TMZ was the first to break the news on February 2, 2023. Although the details on their proposal are uncertain, TMZ reported that the MLB star popped the question some time at the end of 2022. 

The Princess Switch actress and the professional athlete first sparked dating rumors in November of 2020 when they were spotted holding hands and grabbing dinner together in Los Angeles. Hudgens later revealed on The Drew Barrymore Show that the duo met on a Zoom meditation call, and she was the one who initiated their first conversation. “I get on the Zoom, and I’m like, ‘Who is that?’” the actress recounted to host Drew Barrymore in May of 2021. “I found him, and we started talking. If I want something or someone, I’m going after them. I fully just slid into his DMs and was like, ‘Hey, it was nice to meet you.’ So, I think there is no shame in making the first move.”

On February 14, 2021, Hudgens and Tucker confirmed their relationship on Instagram. In honor of Valentine’s Day, the Second Act actress posted a sweet snap of the couple locking lips with the caption, “It’s you, it’s me, it’s us.” Two weeks later, the MLB player opened up about his relationship with Hudgens during a spring training interview, noting that he doesn’t want his couple status to affect his game. “I got a girlfriend, and she’s cool,” he shared. “She’s awesome. I love her, but I don’t want it to be, ‘Oh, Cole’s dating Vanessa.’ I don’t want to be treated any differently than Mitch [Keller] having his wife down, or Ke’Bryan [Hayes] having his girlfriend come down. She’s great. She’ll be around. You will see her, but you saw the headline. It is what it is.”

Nine months later, the duo made their red carpet debut in Los Angeles for the premiere of Hudgens' film Tick, Tick…BOOM! on Netflix. The next month, they celebrated a big milestone in their relationship: one year of dating. “1 year down @cotuck ❤️,” she posted on Instagram on December 29, 2021. “love👏🏽you👏🏽🤟🏽" Tucker also expressed his love in the comments. "The best 🤟🏽🤟🏽🤟🏽🤟🏽🤟🏽,” he wrote. 

Although the couple doesn’t often talk about their relationship to reporters, Hudgens documents a lot of their partnership on Instagram. Her social media page shows photos of the actress supporting Tucker at training sessions and baseball games, plus the couple enjoying a Caribbean getaway, taking a hike, and wearing a killer couple’s costume for Halloween. Most recently, the actress posted a heartfelt tribute to Cole on her page. On January 25, 2023, the star posted a photo of the couple gazing into each other’s eyes with the caption, “I’ll stop the world and melt with you ❤️🥰.”