Zac Efron reacted to High School Musical fans comparing Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s romance to Troy and Gabriella’s legendary love story — and he’s all for it.
During an interview on Monday, February 26, Efron, 36, was asked about how Kelce and Swift’s relationship seemed to parallel story lines from the hit Disney franchise.
“Wow, I didn’t think about that,” Efron told E! News about the real-life couple sharing similarities with the arcs of his character, Troy, and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens). “That’s really cool. Shout-out to all the High School Musical fans.”
Efron, who starred alongside Swift, 34, in 2012’s The Lorax, showed his support for Kelce and Swift, adding, “I love the whole Travis, Taylor thing. Man, I’m so happy for them. They’re two of the best people in the world. How can you not be stoked?”
High School Musical, which released three movies from 2006 to 2008, focused on high school students Troy and Gabriella as they bonded over their love of music. Troy, however, was on the basketball team, which consistently caused him to be divided about which path to follow. In the third film, Troy and Gabrielle shared a moment mid-song when she cheered him on from the stands.
Fans have since argued that Swift’s support for Kelce throughout the NFL’s most recent season mirrored the fictional romance. During a game in January, Swift met Kelce on the field to celebrate the Chiefs making it to the Super Bowl. The pair shared several kisses and exchanged “I love yous” as cameras captured their sweet celebration.
Earlier that month, social media users pointed out another major connection, which inspired a response from Hudgens, 35.
“The Chiefs game and the Golden Globes being within hours of each other reminds me when Troy and Gabriella had the basketball game and the academic decathlon at the same time as the audition for the school musical,” read an Instagram post, to which Hudgens replied, “Hilarious.”
Before Hudgens found love with now-husband Cole Tucker, she made headlines for her romance with Efron. The duo, who played love interests on screen, took their romance outside of set when they confirmed that they were dating in 2007.
Us Weekly confirmed in 2010 that the pair called it quits after three years of dating. They surprised fans more than a decade later when they both shared photos from individual visits to East High School, the real Utah school that appeared in High School Musical.
Despite their coincidental trips, Hudgens and Efron did not reunite with their former costars for the final season of spinoff series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.
HSMTMTS creator Tim Federle discussed his plans for potential cameos in August 2023, telling Trib Total Media, “I got the feeling with Zac and Vanessa, who I don’t know personally but I’m a fan, reading the tea leaves, that by the time you get into negotiating what this would take, we’re gonna wrap and the show will be over.”
