Ashley Tisdale made a rare comment about her friendship with Vanessa Hudgens.
During the Tuesday, March 5, episode of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, Tisdale, 38, answered a fan question about Hudgens, 35.
“I haven’t seen her in a long time,” Tisdale, who shares 2-year-old daughter Jupiter with husband Christopher French, admitted. “I think we’re just — obviously, she’s working, I’m working. I have a daughter, so she’s a full-time job.”
Tisdale and Hudgens originally met working on a commercial in the early 2000s. Their bond quickly grew while filming the High School Musical movies, which ran from 2006 to 2008. The Disney film franchise followed Troy (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Hudgens), two teenagers from completely different cliques, who bond over their love of music. Tisdale played Sharpay, who served as a fan-favorite antagonist before scoring her own spinoff film titled Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure.
The 2011 follow-up to High School Musical also featured Hudgens’ now-ex-boyfriend Austin Butler in the role of the love interest. Butler, 32, has since remained friendly with Tisdale, and they continued to spend time together after his 2020 split from Hudgens. After not seeing as many posts from Tisdale and Hudgens, fans have questioned whether there was a rift between the pair.
The speculation heated up earlier this year when Hudgens reunited with several HSM costars at her wedding to Cole Tucker in Mexico. Monique Coleman and Lucas Grabeel were both in attendance at the destination wedding, but Tisdale didn’t appear to be at the ceremony.
Before rumors swirled about their friendship, Tisdale opened up about her close connection with Hudgens.
“She’s so awesome and one of my best friends,” she exclusively told Us Weekly in 2019. “What I love about her is that she’s so talented, and I think what we share is that we’re really grounded people and I think that that’s important, especially with what we do, is to stay grounded.”
Tisdale added: “We actually worked together a year before in a Sears commercial, and from that day on we were super close. So people don’t really — I think some people know that, but they think it was that movie that brought us together and it really wasn’t.”
Despite remaining largely tight-lipped about her friendship with Hudgens in recent years, Tisdale has had nothing but praise for Butler. The actress previously credited Butler for always putting their friendship first as his star continues to be on the rise.
“He has always taken the time, which I think is like the most important thing to me, to FaceTime to be a part of her life in ways,” she shared with Us in March 2023 of Butler’s relationship with her child. “He’s always been able to do that, and I think that’s something that has been really sweet.”
Tisdale praised Butler again during Tuesday’s episode of WWHL, adding, “I definitely knew he was destined for what he’s doing now. … But he is such a cutie and he’s so amazing and so talented.”
