Austin Butler's Dating History Includes Vanessa Hudgens, Kaia Gerber, and More

Elle

5 days ago

THE RUNDOWN
Austin Butler had been very busy lately, with starring turns in some of the biggest blockbuster hits of recent years, like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Dune, and as Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann's Elvis, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
The star has also managed to have a personal life, which includes some high-profile romances. Though Butler is often in the spotlight, he's generally pretty close-mouthed about his love life. He may walk the red carpet with his partners, but Butler keeps details of his relationships discreet.
Here's what is known about Butler and his complete dating history so far.
Hudgens and Butler met on the set of High School Musical, according to the Daily Mail. At the time, Hudgens was dating Zac Efron, but she and Butler remained friends. They didn't spark dating rumors until 2011, a year after she split from Efron.
In September of that year, they were seen leaving her house in Los Angeles. In January 2012, they were photographed kissing at a Lakers game.
Soon after, they made their red carpet debut at the premiere of Hudgens' film, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.
In December 2013, Butler made his first appearance on Hudgens's Instagram timeline, as part of a group of friends from her church, Hillsong. She wrote in the caption, 'We may be rowdy but man we have fun. Love these people with all my heart. Thanks @hillsong for my new home.'
The couple didn't discuss their relationship that much in public, but in August 2015, Hudgens told Entertainment Tonight, 'It's important to put that other person first. If you're constantly looking for ways that you can make them happy, and they're constantly looking for ways that they can make you happy, then you kind of lift each other up as much as possible, and you can't go wrong.'
Reports that the couple might be on the outs began appearing in late 2019, after they spent the holidays apart. On Jan. 2, 2020, Hudgens discussed the difficulties of often being long-distance with Butler in an interview with Cosmo UK.
'It's eight years this year–FaceTime, good communication, respect and trust [are what keep us going],' she said. 'The longest we've been apart was four months. It sucks! You start hating hearing yourself say, 'I miss you.' But if it's your person, you make it work.'
In mid-January 2020, Us Weekly reported they'd broken up, with a source saying, 'Vanessa and Austin are officially broken up, and Vanessa has been telling those close to her about their breakup.'
Two sources speaking with E! said that the pair 'are split for now,' but claimed they planned to 'see what happens.'
The insider continued, 'They have such a history and deep connection [that] they could find their way back to one another. Right now, she felt like he needed to go and be single and see if that's what he really wants.'
Butler was shooting Baz Luhrmann's Elvis Presley biopic in Australia at the time, while Hudgens was working in Los Angeles. The second source claimed that 'they're just shooting on two different continents, and it's a matter of distance. There is no bad blood at all, and they have a lot of respect for each other.'
However, the two never publicly reconciled, and Hudgens went on to marry baseball player Cole Tucker.
In January 2023, Butler did comment on his past relationship with Hudgens after referring to her as his 'friend' when discussing who motivated him to play Elvis. Fans noted the designation, and it sparked some controversy. In a follow-up with the Los Angeles Times, reporter Mark Olsen asked Butler, 'There's something else I hope you can clear up. You've talked about a moment even before you had the role, it was Christmastime, and an Elvis song came on and you were with a friend, and you were singing along.'
Butler interjected to say, 'I was with my partner at the time.'
After Olsen asked if that partner was Hudgens, Butler replied, 'That's right. We'd been together for so long, and she had this sort of clairvoyant moment and so I really, I owe her a lot for believing in me.'
Butler worked with Olivia DeJonge on the set of Elvis, and it was rumored they had a brief fling after they were seen at a movie theater looking cozy in Melbourne, and then again on the beach in November 2020, per the Daily Mail. But they were never seen together after that year.
In August 2021, Butler was photographed kissing Lily-Rose Depp in London, who had herself recently split up with her boyfriend Timothée Chalamet. They were also not seen together again, and Depp went on to date rapper 070 Shake.
Like with most celebrity romances, Butler's connection with model Kaia Gerber began as a rumor. But in December 2021, a source confirmed with Us Weekly, 'They are low-key dating. It's still very new.'
Butler had been seen on December 8 at a Celine fashion show in Los Angeles, where Gerber was walking the runway. Butler was accompanying her parents, Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber. A source told People a few weeks later, 'She seems really happy. All of her friends think he's really cute.'
Though they made many public appearances throughout their relationship, the couple did not speak about their love much in public. In February 2024, Gerber told WSJ magazine, 'Honestly, I feel like so few things in my life are private, and that is one of the things that I try to keep as sacred as possible.'
In May 2022, Butler was asked about Gerber by GQ and replied, 'I don't think there's anything I want to share about that. But thank you for providing the space.'
That same month, they were seen kissing in Cannes after a screening of Elvis.
In September 2023, a source told Us Weekly that after almost two years together, they were both feeling good about their relationship.
'They've both been so busy with their careers that the time has flown by,' the source said, adding that 'they spend as much time together as they can. Although Austin and Kaia are both in the public eye, they're really down to earth and have a very secure relationship, so they never let jealousy or anything like that get in the way.'
They continued, 'Kaia loves that her family gets along so well with Austin. He's joined them on several vacations, and he's definitely a part of the family.'
Butler did tell Entertainment Tonight in February 2024 that he was proud of Gerber's British Vogue cover that month.
'It was legendary,' he said. 'It was amazing. I loved getting to see that. What an exciting cover. I loved it.'
Gerber and Butler were last seen together in October 2024, heading from dinner to Gracie Abrams's concert at Radio City Music Hall. But rumors of a breakup started circulating after they failed to make more public appearances. In January 2025, sources told TMZ that they had split 'around the end of 2024.'
'The relationship just simply ran its course after a good three years together,' the insider claimed.
Gerber began dating actor Lewis Pullman in early 2025.