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Austin Butler has kept his love life relatively private, but he has had several famous girlfriends in the past. His most notable long-term relationship was with Vanessa Hudgens, with whom he dated for over seven years. Butler is currently openly single, but his last date was with Kaia Gerber.
Austin Butler has been busy lately, starring in recent blockbusters such as Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Dune, as well as being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis.
The star has also managed to build a personal life that includes several high-profile romances. Although Butler is often in the spotlight, she remains quiet about her love life. Although he may walk red carpets with his partner, Butler keeps the details of his relationship private.
Here’s what is known so far about Butler and his complete dating history.
Vanessa Hudgens
According to the Daily Mail, Hudgens and Butler met on the set of High School Musical. At the time, Hudgens was dating Zac Efron, but she and Butler remained friends. Rumors of their relationship first surfaced in 2011, a year after she broke up with Efron.
In September of the same year, he was seen leaving his girlfriend’s home in Los Angeles. In January 2012, they were photographed kissing at a Lakers game.
Shortly after, they made their red carpet debut at the premiere of Hudgens’ film Journey 2: Mysterious Island.
Butler first appeared on Hudgens’ Instagram timeline in December 2013 as part of a group of friends from Hudgens’ church, Hillsong. She wrote in the caption, “We may be rowdy but we have so much fun. I love these guys with all my heart. Thank you @hillsong for my new home.”
The two haven’t talked much about their relationship publicly, but in August 2015, Hudgens told Entertainment Tonight, “It’s important to put the other person first. If you’re always looking for ways to make them happy and they’re always looking for ways to make you happy, you’re going to end up in a relationship where you build each other up as much as possible, and you can’t go wrong with that.”
Reports began to emerge that the couple had been going out since late 2019 after spending the holidays separately. On January 2, 2020, Hudgens spoke to Cosmo UK about the challenges of being so far away from Butler.
“This is our eighth year. FaceTime, good communication, respect and trust are what keep us moving forward,” she said. “The longest we’ve been apart was four months. It sucks! You start to hate hearing yourself say, ‘I miss you.'” But if that’s your guy, he’ll make it work. ”
In mid-January 2020, Us Weekly reported on the couple’s breakup, with a source saying, “Vanessa and Austin have officially broken up, and Vanessa has told those close to her about the breakup.”
Two sources tell E! He said the two are “separated for now,” but insisted they were going to “see what happens.”
The source continued, “They have so much history and a deep connection that they were able to find their way back to each other. Now that he’s single, she felt she needed to make sure that’s what she really wanted.”
At the time, Butler was filming an Elvis Presley biopic directed by Baz Luhrmann in Australia, and Hudgens was working in Los Angeles. A second source claimed, “They’re just filming on two different continents and it’s a matter of distance. There’s no bad blood at all and they respect each other a lot.”
However, the two never publicly reconciled, and Hudgens married baseball player Cole Tucker.
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In January 2023, Butler commented on his past relationship with Hudgens after calling him a “friend” when discussing his motivations for playing Elvis. Fans took notice of this name, and it caused some controversy. In a follow-up report for the Los Angeles Times, reporter Mark Olsen asked Butler, “There’s something I’d like you to clarify. Even before you got the role, you were talking about a moment when it was Christmas time and an Elvis song was playing and you were with a friend and you were singing along.”
Butler interjected: “I was with my partner at the time.”
When Olsen asked if that partner was Hudgens, Butler replied, “That’s right. We’ve been together for a long time and she had these kind of clairvoyant moments, so I’m really, really grateful to her for believing in me.”
olivia deyonge
According to the Daily Mail, Butler and Olivia DeJonge co-starred on the set of Elvis and were rumored to have had a brief relationship after they were spotted getting cozy at a movie theater in Melbourne, before reuniting on the beach in November 2020. However, they were never seen together after that year.
lily rose depp
In August 2021, Butler was photographed kissing Lily-Rose Depp, who had just split from boyfriend Timothée Chalamet, in London. The two were never seen together again, and Depp continued dating rapper 070 Shake.
Kaia Gerber
Like most celebrity romances, Butler’s relationship with model Kaia Gerber started with rumors. However, in December 2021, a source confirmed to US Weekly magazine, “They’re in a low-key relationship. It’s still very new.”
Butler attended the Celine fashion show in Los Angeles on December 8th, where Gerber was spotted walking down the runway. Butler was accompanied by her parents, Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber. A few weeks later, a source told People magazine: “She seems really happy. All her friends think he’s really cute.”
Although they appeared in public many times during their relationship, they rarely talked about their love in public. In February 2024, Gerber told WSJ magazine, “Honestly, I feel like there are very few things in life that are private. It’s one of those things that I try to keep as sacred as possible.”
In May 2022, Butler was asked about Gerber by GQ and responded, “I don’t think I have anything to share about that. But thank you for giving me the space.”
That same month, they were spotted kissing after a screening of Elvis in Cannes.
In September 2023, a source told Us Weekly that they were both happy with their relationship after nearly two years together.
“They’ve both been very busy with their careers and time has flown by,” the source said, adding, “They spend as much time together as they can. Austin and Kaia are both in the public eye, but they have a very real and very secure relationship and never let jealousy get in the way.”
She continued: “Kaia loves how close her family is to Austin. He’s been on a few vacations with the family and he’s definitely part of the family.”
Butler told Entertainment Tonight in February 2024 that he was proud that Gerber appeared on the cover of British Vogue that same month.
“It was legendary,” he said. “It was amazing. I was so happy to see it. What an inspiring cover. I loved it.”
Gerber and Butler were last seen together in October 2024, heading from dinner to a Gracie Abrams concert at Radio City Music Hall. However, rumors of a breakup began to circulate as the two rarely appeared in public. In January 2025, a source told TMZ that the two would break up “around the end of 2024.”
“After three years together, the relationship simply ended on its own,” the source claimed.
Gerber began dating actor Louis Pullman in early 2025.
Emily Ratajkowski
In mid-November 2025, Butler publicly addressed speculation about his relationship with Emily Ratajkowski after they were spotted together several times in New York City. In an interview with Vanity Fair magazine, he denied any romantic implications, saying, “The real answer is, I have a lot of friends, we’re friends, we’ve had dinner, we’re friends.” He also directly revealed his relationship status and told the media that he is single.
Butler admitted that the attention to her personal life felt overwhelming at times, and shared, “I just wanted to hide,” before explaining how her approach had changed. “I’m going to live a cramped little life because I’m scared of what other people will say or think,” he said rhetorically.
The comments came after months of speculation about her relationship with Ratajkowski. The two were photographed at the Waverly Inn in early September, and an eyewitness told Page Six that he “put his arm around her” and “kept nodding at her every word.”
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