Selena Gomez, 30, was almost in an on-screen relationship with her Wizards of Wavery Place co-star Hayley Kiyoko, 31, according to showrunner Peter Murrieta. Peter appeared on Jennifer Stone and David DeLuise‘s Wizards of Waverly Pod podcast and admitted that he wanted to create a storyline where Selena’s Alex Russo fell for Hayley’s Stevie Nichols on the Disney Channel show.
“I wished we could have played more with what was quite obvious to a lot of us, which was the relationship between Stevie and Alex,” Peter shared on the podcast March 27. “But we weren’t able to in that time. It was pretty clear to all of us what that relationship was. That would have been fun,” he added.
@jenniferlstone We know you wanted Stalex…we wanted it too. #wizardspod #wizardsofwaverlyplace #disneytok
Selena’s character Alex Russo was never to be in the LGBTQ community on the show. Hayley, who has since come out as a lesbian, was in four episodes as bad-girl wizard Stevie, who had obvious chemistry with Alex. On the podcast, Jennifer agreed that the 2007 to 2012 show could’ve gotten away with exploring a same-sex relationship “a few years down the line.”
Peter noted that the Alex-Stevie relationship really did almost happen. “Disney Channel has had characters, and they did it, but we got as close as we could,” he shared. “Pretty close. It was pretty much right there.” Jennifer posted Peter’s comments on the podcast in a short TikTok video, which she captioned, “We know you wanted Stalex… we wanted it too.” She used the fans’ ship name “Stalex” for Stevie and Alex’s relationship.
Peter was the latest guest on Wizards of Waverly Pod, where Jennifer and David look back on the beloved series that shot Selena to stardom. Selena appeared on the podcast last month and explained that Wizards is still the best experience she’s had in her career because of the bonds she made with the cast.
“I know you guys love me for me. You guys genuinely loved me. That’s all I could have asked for,” Selena said. “The unconditional trust and bond we have, I miss so much.” The Only Murders in the Building star added, “I’m so lucky and grateful that I get to be apart of all these other projects. But I tell people all the time, I’ve never had that feeling with the whole ‘Wizards’ crew. Not just you guys.”