Zac Efron’s ex-girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens on their High School Musical romance

Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens were the pin-up Disney golden couple — but after High School Musical ended, so did their relationship. Now we know why.

Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron dated for many years. Picture: AP/Matt Sayles

Young love comes with many ups and downs, and exes Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron certainly know that.

The two fell in love while filming the breakout 2006 Disney movie High School Musical and dated for many years as they shot three films in the wildly popular franchise.

The pair split in 2010, two years after the third and final movie premiered, in an announcement that shocked fans around the world.

Now Hudgens, 31, is finally opening up about her early years in one of the most high-profile Hollywood relationships while filming the HSM movies, which are all available to stream on Foxtel.

“I remember one time we did have a fight, and it was while we were at rehearsals, and I remember Kenny Ortega (the director) coming around the corner with the most concerned look on his face like, ‘Oh no, is our movie going to fall apart right now?’” Hudgens revealed on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast.

Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron at an event not long before they split in 2010.

Young love.

“I pride myself on being a professional, so I was like, that aside, we are going to move forward and do what we need to do, and we sorted it all out. I think because I was so young, having that relationship really stabilised me,” she admitted.

Hudgens said she first met Efron when they auditioned for the lead roles of Gabriella and Troy, and she was immediately attracted to him. She said she thought, “Oh my God, this guy is so cute.

“(The relationship) started off really organically, and I could not have been more grateful to have that relationship at the time,” she said.

“(The movie) was this massive phenomenon all of a sudden and all eyes were on me … I had someone to lean on who was going through it as well.”

The HSM crew. Picture: AP/Douglas C. Pizac

Hudgens also told the New York Times the relationship began to strain because of the attention Efron was receiving from other women.

“I went through a phase when I was really mean because I was so fed up,” she said.

“Girls were running after him, and I was giving them death stares. Then I realised that’s not what that’s about.”

A few years after they split, Hudgens began dating actor Austin Butler, and the two are still together after seven years.

Efron was last rumoured to be dating Olympic swimmer Sarah Bro.

This article originally appeared on Fox News and was reproduced with permission