A Quick Refresher on Zac Efron’s Full Dating History Over the Years

Put a finger down if you've low-key religiously kept track of Zac Efron's dating history like it's your literal job. *Shamelessly puts finger down* Anyway! So you can imagine how pleased I am to report that I fully used my sleuthing (read: Instagram stalking and tabloid reading) skills to put together this handy-dandy relationship history timeline for my actual day job lol (ily Cosmo!).

So let's take a journey way, waaaaay back to the start of something new (heh) between the actor and my fave karaoke icon, Vanessa Hudgens.

Vanessa Hudgens (2005-2010)

*Le sigh* Real ones may recall that these two were the literal textbook definition of teenage couple goals. 😭❤️ Vanessa and Zac initially met on the set of the Oscar-robbed masterpiece High School Musical back in 2005, and by March 2007 the actors finally (!!) confirmed their 'ship after Zac starred as V's love interest in her "Say Ok" music video, which, yes, we will be watching in 3...2...1...

However, just a few years later, in December 2010, the couple officially ended things. "They are 100 percent still good friends," a source told People at the time. Vanessa herself also opened up about the sitch and told Details, "We’re still friends. Who knows what the future will bring. We’re figuring things out." She also explained in another subsequent interview with Shape in 2011 (via People) that "Long-distance relationships are hard no matter what. When you don't have face-to-face time, it's just different. Having an iPhone helped, but it just wasn't the same."

Fast-forward to 2017, and the singer dished to Access Hollywood Live that she and Zac had "completely lost contact"...which is why everyone was all?!?!?!?! when the 17 Again actor unexpectedly followed her on Instagram in April 2023!

Legit all of us after the news broke:

Lily Collins (2012-2013)

Zac and Lilly dated for three months in 2012 (aka seven years before they both starred in 2019’s Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile) and even spent Valentine’s Day together in 2012. 👀

However, the last time the duo was spotted—before reuniting years later for the Ted Bundy biopic, obvi—was in October 2013, when Zac was seen holding hands with Lily on a trip to Disneyland.

Halston Sage (2014)

News that Zac was dating his Neighbors costar broke back in April 2014 after an anonymous source dished to E! News that the two were "definitely an item" and "he’s really good to her." And to make matters more interesting, not even two weeks later, during an interview with Access Hollywood, Zac full-on gushed about the fellow actor, whom he referred to as a "sweetheart." Soon after, the two were snapped sitting courtside at a Los Angeles Lakers game and exchanging tons of laughs. Ahem, witness:

The two sadly split in July 2014, how-ev-er (!!!!) six years later—aka in January 2020—they seemed to rekindle their flame after an Us Weekly insider reported that once Zac split from Olympic swimmer Sarah Bro (you'll get the full rundown on their 'ship in a bit, dw!), he and Halston began seeing each other again. In fact, what they *actually* said IRL was that the two were "in a serious relationship and in love" and that "They spent the holidays together, with part of that time in Santa Barbara."

In the end, though, these two wound up going their separate ways again. Whomp!

Michelle Rodriguez (2014)

Michelle and Zac reportedly had a summer fling, with their first spotting being at the premiere of The Rover on June 12 of that year, per People. Fast-forward to the following month, and the two were then snapped kissing on a yacht in Sardinia, Italy. Refinery29 reported at the time that the two met through their mutual friend, Italian businessman Gianluca Vacchi.

The two then continued to pack on the heat after they spent time together on *checks notes* Justin Bieber's yacht in Ibiza. But their ~summer of love~ came to an end that August after multiple sources confirmed to Us Weekly that the pair had split. "Michelle is going to do her own thing. Zac knew this about her when he got with her," an insider dished to the outlet. "He's very into her though, and perhaps more than she's into him."

The more you know!

Sami Miró (2014-2016)

Zac began dating model and designer Sami in 2014 and the two were beyond cute together. 🥺❤️ However, they wound up calling it quits two years later in 2016. A source told E! News at the time that the actor was the one who ended the 'ship because apparently, their "spark had died." "[They] did not have the same feelings for each other as they did when they first started dating," the insider then said before adding that, "It wasn’t an easy breakup. Distance and work schedules got in the way with their relationship and Zac wanted to focus on his career."

Following the split, Zac deleted all of his pics with Sami off his Instagram and even unfollowed her, leaving many to think the relationship didn't exaaaactly end on the friendliest terms.

In a 2015 interview with Elle in the midst of her romance with Zac, Sami opened up about what it was like to date the actor in the public eye. "I’ve never spoken about us before, but, um, it’s definitely different," she confessed. "I think that you have to take that [kind of attention] with a grain of salt, and put yourself in other people’s positions. I think that’s actually a really big part of it, putting yourself in their shoes, and trying to understand where they’re coming from, and then it kinds of makes sense."

She then added that "It kind of just comes with the territory, and I know there’s no really changing that, so you just have to embrace it. If I was dating someone who wasn’t in the limelight, I might have more photos on [Instagram] of our relationship, but I do think it’s important. I mean, it’s what is going on in my life, and I think that my social can still represent that."

Alexandra Daddario (2017)

These actors initially met on—you guessed it!—the set of a movie. Yep, both Zac and Alexandra starred and were love interests in (!!) Baywatch.

In March 2018, a source even told People that the former costars had seen each other "on and off since their time working together on the movie last year," though they were not official official yet. And that same month, the duo was spotted shopping with their dogs at a Los Angeles pet store.

However, the two have always maintained that they're pretty much really good friends (sure, Jan!), and Alexandra said as much to People (via Elle)in May 2018 with this musing: "We’re very good friends. Zac and I’ve worked together, and we’re very good friends."

Moving on!

Sarah Bro (2019)

Zac and the Danish Olympic swimmer were first linked in March 2019 after they were photographed together at a UFC fight in March 2019. At the time, a source told E! News that the duo "looked like they were having a great time" but were "not overly publicly affectionate," though the two *did* leave the event together so do with that intel what you will!

Additionally, on the night before the UFC match, both Zac and Sarah uploaded pics to their respective Instagram accounts from a Los Angeles Kings hockey game, so obvi many online reports claimed they attended the event together.

But by January 2020, Us Weekly broke the news of their split after Zac rekindled his romance with Halston. "The relationship just wasn’t working out," a source told the mag at the time. "She came back to L.A., and it never got going again."

Vanessa Valladares (2020-2021)

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the actor traveled all the way to Australia and wound up finding love after he met model Vanessa Valladares while she was working at Byron Bay General Store & Café. Though the two were initially only thought to be just friends, things totally turned into something more.

Per a source who spoke with People at the time, "Zac met Ness earlier in the summer. They started hanging out in July and recently took a ski trip together...You can tell that they are having fun. She spends a lot of time at this house." No-ted!

Zac and Vanessa were spotted a bunch more times that year doing everything from working out together to celebrating the actor's 33rd birthday in October before ultimately calling it quits in April 2021.

A source confirmed the news to People and dished that Zac had actually been the one to end things. "Zac broke things off with Vanessa recently. It just didn’t feel right to him anymore," the insider said. "Zac will still stay in Australia. He just loves Australia so much. He is working and busy with several upcoming projects. He is happy, healthy and enjoying life," they added.

The news was also confirmed by Zac's friend, Australian radio host Kyle Sandilands, who said the following on his program, The Kyle and Jackie O Show: "Well, it’s not just the Daily Telegraph [reporting on the breakup]. I can also confirm after speaking with him yesterday. Because I heard the rumors...They’ve gone their separate ways. No drama. It’s done. He’s back to work."

Annnnd that’s that! We’ll be updating this should Zac have any new 'ship news to report.

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