Last summer, High School Musical heartthrob Zac Efron began an adorable romance in Australia when he started dating Vanessa Valladares, a waitress and model working at a regular spot of his, Byron Bay General Store & Cafe. Efron and Valladares really hit things off, and the actor even recently made his move down under more serious by selling his $6 million Los Angeles home of eight years. But their flame has recently blown out reportedly due to a number of factors on Efron's end.
News of the split came earlier this week and was even confirmed by Zac Efron’s friend Kyle Sandilands, who briefly spoke about the breakup on a radio show. Now, we’ve found more alleged details about what happened between the actor and Vanessa Valladares, first with a People source noting the following:
Zac broke things off with Vanessa recently. It just didn't feel right to him anymore.
The couple started dating in June 2020, with the 25-year-old model going on to live with Zac Efron in Byron Bay. They had apparently been getting serious, as they were frequently spotted together and she was by his side for his 33rd birthday celebration along with some famous Australians. Following the breakup, Efron is still at peace down under, though. Per the report:
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.
Another insider told Us Weekly that Efron “wanted to make a clean break” as he gets ready to film the Stephen King remake of Firestarter in Canada this upcoming month with Anne Hathaway. The source noted that he’ll be leaving Australia temporarily, and Vanessa Valladares could not have joined him on the shoot.
The second source also noted that going into the intense filming schedule for the sci-fi horror film, he didn’t want “distraction.” The actor has a load of other projects he’ll soon be working on in addition to Firestarter, including Disney+’s Three Men and a Baby, biopic King of the Jungle and his survivalist series, Killing Zac Efron. The actor moving around certainly could have added strain to the couple’s relationship if they stayed together, and going long distance isn’t for everyone.
That being said, aside from Zac Efron’s close friend confirming their split, we can't know for sure why things ended between the couple. Breakups are a personal matter, but there seems to be a number of practical reasons why things fizzled out. Either way, it looks like Zac Efron has an exciting summer of work ahead of him. And he’ll likely remain in Australia after his multiple filming projects alongside a host of other famous people who are finding new homes in Byron Bay such as Matt Damon and Chris Hemsworth.
