Moving forward. Austin Butler is making his return to social media following his split from longtime girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens.
The 28-year-old Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actor posted his first photo since October 2019 on Saturday, February 1. Butler is pictured leaning against a wall in a pink Prada shirt, matching pants and a black jacket in a photo shoot picture for Man About Town magazine.
The Switched at Birth alum did not caption the photo but Hudgen’s friend and High School Musical costar Ashley Tisdale made sure to express her thoughts, leaving multiple fire emojis under the pic.
Butler’s Instagram return comes a few weeks after Us Weekly broke the news in January that the Carrie Diaries alum and the Bad Boys for Life star, 31, had called it quits after nearly nine years of dating.
“Vanessa and Austin are officially broken up, and Vanessa has been telling those close to her about their breakup,” the insider revealed at the time.
The former couple, who began dating in September 2011, first sparked breakup speculation in December 2019 after they appeared to spend the holidays separately. Butler was also noticeably absent when the High School Musical star celebrated her birthday on December 13 with her younger sister, Stella Hudgens, surprising her on the set of her upcoming Netflix film, The Princess Switch: Switched Again.
Unlike her ex, Hudgens has been active on social media and on the red carpet in the weeks since their breakup. The Grease Live! star posted a photo of herself basking in the California sunshine on January 14 via Instagram, hours after Us revealed their split.
Hudgens also posted a selfie on her Instagram Story that same day in celebration of the premiere of her newest movie, Bad Boys for Life. “OH SAAANP. BAD BOYS PREMIERE TODAY,” she wrote alongside a photo of her holding up a “rock on” sign. “So excited.”
A few hours later, she dazzled on the red carpet at the film’s premiere dressed in a white feathered Georges Hobeika dress with sequins, one sleeve and a long, sheer train. Hudgens has had her struggles however, telling Kelly Ripa amid the breakup that the hardest part of working abroad is missing “the people I love.”
Hudgens previously dated her High School Musical costar Zac Efron from 2005 to 2010.
