Austin Butler explained why he referred to ex Vanessa Hudgens as an old “friend”, during an interview last year.
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In an interview with Esquire, published on Tuesday (6), Butler explained that he wasn’t trying to downplay Vanessa’s role in his life, but rather shield her from any extra media attention. The ex couple dated for nearly a decade.
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“Oh, yeah, I learned a lesson with that one. I felt that I was respecting her privacy in a way and not wanting to bring up a ton of things that would cause her to have to talk”, explained the “Elvis” actor.
“I have so much love and care for her. It was in no way trying to erase anything”, added Austin. He also said that they were together for a “long time”, and that he “didn’t want to give up anybody else’s privacy” because he values his own “so much”.
Both Austin and Vanessa are over their separation. Austin is now dating model Kaia Gerber. Meanwhile, Vanessa recently married baseball player Cole Tucker.