Inside Zac Efron and Vanessa Valladares’ doomed love story

From the outside, Hollywood actor Zac Efron and his girlfriend Vanessa Valladares’ love story seemed like a fairytale. 

From meeting in a Byron Bay café – where Vanessa, 25, was waitressing – to shacking up together in a ocean-front mansion, and even sparking engagement rumours, the loved-up duo appeared to have it all.    

But on Wednesday, it was confirmed the couple’s romance was officially over, just 10 months after it first began. 

Here is a timeline of the pair’s short-lived love story, as the nation continues to wonder just what went wrong between the lovebirds:

June 2020: Their fairytale meeting 

Zac, 33, met Vanessa in June when she was working as a waitress at Byron Bay’s General Store & Café and the Light Years restaurant.

According to reports, Zac was introduced to his future girlfriend by her own employer, and the duo hit it off straight away.

‘They were introduced by her boss,’ a source told Who magazine at the time. ‘Lucky girl!’

Shortly after in August, Daily Mail Australia revealed that Zac had cancelled his scheduled flight back to Los Angeles because he ‘didn’t really want to go back’.

‘He was only planning to fly home if he had to,’ a source revealed.

Zac had purchased the plane ticket several months earlier in case his application for a visa extension was denied by the Department of Home Affairs.

But it seems his request to have his tourist visa extended from three months to 12 months was granted, hence why he cancelled his trip home.

Months later, it was rumoured that the inseparable pair had already started living together in a luxury rental in Byron Bay – but they still said nothing about their love to the press or via social media. 

September 2020: Ski vacation

The pair took their relationship to the next level when they ventured south to Australia’s Thredbo village for a romantic ski trip in September.

The private pair didn’t share any photos of the trip, but were spotted looking very loved-up on the slopes.

The couple –  who reportedly flew to Thredbo from Ballina airport – were pictured hitting the slopes for a casual ski with a number of tourists seemingly unaware of the American actor’s presence.

Beach-loving Zac looked at home in the snow, with him covering up in a graphic black hoodie and  blue sports jacket, while Vanessa appeared happy to be on the slopes wearing a black ski jacket along with a stylish olive helmet and goggles.

The holiday marked the first time the duo had publicly enjoyed a getaway together – and happened a week before they confirmed their romance in Byron Bay.

September 2020: Holding Hands

Following months of romance speculation, Zac then confirmed his relationship with Vanessa with a sweet public display of affection.

The couple were spotted holding hands for the first time as they visited The Farm, a trendy restaurant hub in Byron Bay.

Zac and Vanessa looked like any other local couple as they picked up a healthy-looking takeaway meal and matching cans of coconut water.

Clearly in good spirits, the smitten pair were seen merrily chatting and exchanging a few laughs as they made their way through The Farm’s sun-drenched grounds.

Vanessa was seen carrying her mobile phone and a set of car keys, suggesting that the couple had driven themselves to the eatery rather than being chaperoned by Zac’s entourage.

While this was the first time the duo were seen holding hands, they went on to be pictured together multiples time over the next few months – although they tried to avoid PDA whenever possible.

October 2020: Zac’s birthday party and engagement rumours

Radio shock jock Kyle Sandilands attended Zac’s 33rd birthday party in October – an event which was set up entirely by the actor’s doting girlfriend.

The host then spilled the beans on his experience with the couple live on the Kyle and Jackie O Show, describing Vanessa as a ‘sweetheart’.

‘She knew everything. She put the whole thing together. She’s a sweetheart,’ he said.

As his co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson asked if the duo packed on the PDA at the private event, he responded: ‘They weren’t overboard.’

‘You know when you see a young couple macking on in Westfield, and you’re like, “Oh please,” – it’s not like that.’

Kyle added: ‘He absolutely loves Australia, he’s in love with this girl – Vanessa.

‘They’re a lovely, beautiful couple; they do everything together. Just very sweet and lovely.’

Rumours then began swirling that the couple could be getting engaged, after Zac reportedly gave a ring to Vanessa at the event.

A source told Woman’s Day at the time: ‘He gave it to her after the party – it was incredibly romantic.’ 

November 2020: Split rumours

Back in November, speculation ran rife that Zac and Vanessa had ended their romance just weeks after engagement rumours swirled.

The Sun reported that the pair’s plans to buy a house fizzled out, with a source saying: ‘Zac and Vanessa looked like the real deal. They were besotted with each other.’

‘Zac has been renting a place by the beach in Byron Bay and by September, Vanessa was living with him there. So once he decided to stay in Australia long term, he suggested they buy their first home.

‘They’d started to look at a few places but, sadly, fate wasn’t on their side.’

However, just weeks later the duo were pictured together again – and a source told US Weekly: ‘Zac’s loving his life in Australia. He’s settled down and very happy with his girlfriend. It’s serious.’

2020 and 2021: A taste of fame

Vanessa had loyally been by Zac’s side while the Hollywood star travelled around Australia for various work projects over the past few months, including filming in Adelaide on the Stan original film Gold and around the country shooting his Netflix series Down to Earth.

The pair flew into Sydney Airport together in late March, returning from Melbourne, where Zac had been filming the Netflix series.

Vanessa had been a fixture at the various location shoots for the project, including during an abseiling session in NSW’s Blue Mountains on April 1, which was the last time the couple were spotted together.

On Monday, Woman’s Day reported that Zac was apparently ‘pulling strings’ to land Vanessa her very own role on the Netflix ‘docu-soap series’ Byron Baes.

According to the publication, the American actor was ‘determined to make Vanessa Valladares a star’ on the upcoming show.

April 2021: The split

Despite their many appearances together over the past few weeks, it was confirmed on Wednesday that Zac and Vanessa had called time on their romance.

After a report claimed the pair had split on Tuesday, Kyle Sandilands said on his show a day later: ‘I can confirm, after speaking with him yesterday.’ 

When he asked his pal about the rumours over the phone, Zac apparently admitted that he and Vanessa were no longer together.

Kyle said their split was ‘recent’ but not ‘yesterday recent’, and that there was ‘no drama’ in their break-up.

‘It’s confirmed by Kyle,’ Jackie concluded, as Kyle claimed Zac was simply getting back into the swing of work and their busy lives weren’t in sync.

However, also on Wednesday, a source close to Zac told Daily Mail Australia that the couple have not only ‘100 per cent split’, but revealed the ‘final nail in the coffin’ of their relationship that led to Zac walking away.

According to the source, Zac sent Vanessa back home to Byron Bay earlier this month after seeing media reports that she was set to star in Netflix’s controversial influencer reality series, Byron Baes.

‘He’s a very good person who wanted a genuine, normal, down-to-earth partner,’ the source said.

‘Zac sent her home from the set [Down to Earth with Zac Efron] last week. There still may have been a chance.

‘I’m sure the final nail in the coffin was him seeing the story of her being possibly on Byron Baes and the claims that he was helping her get on it,’ the source said.

The source said Zac doesn’t read media reports about himself, so he was ‘very hurt’ when a friend showed him the story.

‘He is an absolutely down to earth person, not fancy, quite humble.’