The 'Wizards of Waverly Place' Showrunner Confirmed That Alex Russo Was Bisexual

Selena Gomez's character never got to be her authentic self, according to Peter Murrieta.

Between all the magical hijinks and slapstick comedy, Disney Channel's Wizards of Waverly Place managed to sprinkle in some real-life lessons, too, including themes of friendship, family, and (naturally) teenage love. Let's also not forget it was the show that made Selena Gomez a star. However, the show didn't fit in everything that its creative team envisioned. During the latest episode of Wizards of Waverly Pod, a re-watch podcast hosted by stars Jennifer Stone and David DeLuise, showrunner Peter Murrieta explained that in his mind, Alex Russo (the lead character played by Selena Gomez) was bisexual — the writing team just never got to explore that storyline.

When he was asked about any storylines that he wished would have materialized during the show's run, he was quick to answer, saying, “Easy, I wished we could have played more with what was quite obvious to a lot of us was the relationship between Stevie and Alex.”

Murietta mentioned specific instances that would have allowed Alex to explore her sexuality.

“We weren’t able to in that time, but it was pretty clear to all of us what that relationship was. That would have been fun," he said of possibly fleshing out Alex's queer identity with a teenage wizard named Stevie Nichols (played by Hayley Kiyoko). That character only appeared on the show for four episodes.

Related:Selena Gomez Opened Up About Her "Biggest Regret"

DeLouise mentioned that it could be a possibility today, saying "Nowadays that could happen, right?" Times have changed and Disney Channel does have precedent for queer characters.

“I mean they did it. Disney Channel has had characters, and they did it. But at that time, it wasn’t a thing," Murietta added. "But, we got as close as we could. I mean it was pretty close. It was pretty much right there.”

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