Celebrity Celebrity Relationships Celebrity Dating Vanessa Hudgens and Austin Butler Break Up After Over 8 Years of Dating Vanessa Hudgens and Austin Butler have split after first getting together in 2011 By Dana Rose Falcone Dana Rose Falcone Dana Rose Falcone is a Staff Writer covering TV at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE for seven years. Dana Rose's work has previously appeared in Entertainment Weekly, Men's Fitness and Us Weekly. People Editorial Guidelines and Aili Nahas Aili Nahas Aili Nahas is the former West Coast deputy news director at PEOPLE. She left PEOPLE in 2023. People Editorial Guidelines Published on January 14, 2020 04:56PM EST It’s the start of something new for Vanessa Hudgens: She and boyfriend and Austin Butler have split after more than eight years of dating, a source confirms to PEOPLE. Their reps could not be reached for comment. The Bad Boys for Life actress, 31, and the Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood actor, 28, first got together in 2011. Fans first speculated about a breakup when neither Hudgens nor Butler posted photos celebrating Christmas and New Year’s Eve together. Hudgens did publicly celebrate his birthday in August 2019. “Happy birthday to my love, my other half, my constant inspiration and supporter. My best friend. My everything. 28 is going to be ???,” she wrote on Instagram. Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic The pair had been long distance as they filmed projects in different countries. Hudgens has starred in a number of Netflix Christmas movies recently, shooting The Princess Switch: Switched Again in the U.K. in November 2019. And Butler will play Elvis Presley in an untitled biopic that’s currently in pre-production. “Communication is key,” Hudgens, who also hosts So You Think You Can Dance, told PEOPLE in March 2017. “I think that if anything’s bothering you, don’t hold it in. Always bring it up and just talk about it. Uncensor yourself and just be open.” Hudgens and Butler’s breakup might put pal Ashley Tisdale in an awkward spot. “Austin was my best friend since way before they got together,” Tisdale, 34, told PEOPLE in 2016, “so it’s just nice to have your two best friends be in a relationship.” Hudgens previously dated her High School Musical costar, Zac Efron. Us first reported news of Hudgens and Butler’s split.