UPDATE 2/9/23 9:54 PM: One week after the news broke of Vanessa Hudgens’ engagement, the Disney Channel alum took to Instagram to confirm the news. “YES. We couldn’t be happier,” she captioned the adorable snapshot with her fiancé, Cole Tucker. In the post, seen below, Vanessa and the baseball pro cuddled up together amid a stunning Paris backdrop. Her engagement ring appeared to be an oval-cut diamond in a platinum setting.
Original Story: Vanessa Hudgens is an engaged woman! Her boyfriend of two years, Cole Tucker, popped the question at the end of 2022, TMZ reported on Thursday, Feb. 2. It’s unclear where, exactly, Cole got down on one knee — however, the couple shared photos from a romantic getaway in Paris last November! HollywoodLife has reached reps for comment.
Vanessa, 34, and the Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop, 26, met at a Zoom meditation group in 2020 and were first spotted together in November of that year. They went Instagram official on Valentine’s Day 2021 with a pic of them kissing. “It’s you, it’s me, it’s us. @cotuck,” the High School Musical alum captioned the sweet Instagram photo.
“He’s just kind of perfect for me. I am [happy]. I really am,” Vanessa, who was previously in a nine-year relationship with Austin Butler, told Entertainment Tonight in April 2021. “I think that it’s also so important to stay grateful for everything that you have in life. I’ve been making that a priority, and I feel like it’s just been making magic happen all the more.”
That same month, a person close to Vanessa revealed to HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY why the pair seem to have a promising future together. “Cole treats Vanessa like a queen, he adores her. People were a little skeptical of him at first. I mean, a pro athlete and he’s only in his early twenties, no one really expected it to last. But he has been very serious about her from the get-go and that has not wavered. He adores her and says all the time that she is his dream girl, it’s sweet,” they explained.
The source also said that dating someone outside the entertainment industry has been refreshing for the singer-actress. “Last month she went to see him while he was at Spring training in Florida. All the other wives and girlfriends were very welcoming, she had a blast,” they gushed. “It’s a new experience for her, she’s used to guys that are in the business, so she really loves that Cole is different that way. It’s a whole new world for her to join. She’s definitely in love and very, very happy.”
Around the same time, Cole opened up about his life with a famous girlfriend and even said he loves her. “I got a girlfriend and she’s cool. She’s awesome, I love her,” he raved to KDKA, according to CBS News. He also said she will “be around”, seemingly hinting that he’s in the relationship for the long haul.
Vanessa and Cole kept their relationship generally out of the spotlight, aside from the occasional red carpet appearance or Instagram update. For example, they showed fans they were still going strong during the 2022 holidays with a selfie in front of a Christmas tree, as seen above. In January, Vanessa shared a precious snapshot of the pair holding and smiling at each other at what looked like a formal event. “I’ll stop the world and melt with you,” the KNOW Beauty founder captioned the post, which can be seen here. Congrats to the happy couple!