Cole Tucker, Vanessa Hudgens’ fiancé, is well-versed in diamonds.
He is not just a professional baseball player; in 2022, he proposed to the former cast member of High School Musical with an emerald-cut sparkler.
Hudgens declared of the proposal, “I was extremely surprised,” in a March 2023 interview with PEOPLE. “We had discussed it, for sure, but I did not anticipate it happening at the exact moment that it did. I was crying profusely because it had taken me off guard.”
When they were seen holding hands at a dinner date at the Canyon Country Store in Los Angeles in November 2020, the two became romantically associated.
During an April 2023 appearance on Hoda & Jenna, she said, “After our first weekend together, I called my sister [Stella], and I was like, ‘I think I just found my future husband.'”
On Valentine’s Day of 2021, Hudgens and Tucker made their relationship public on Instagram. Later that year, they made their red carpet debut at the premiere of Tick, Tick… Boom!.
April 2021: “He’s just kind of perfect for me,” she said to Entertainment Tonight. “I’m [content]. I am, truly. It’s also crucial, in my opinion, to continue to be thankful for everything in life. I feel like since I’ve started putting that first, magic has been happening even more.”
Who is the fiancé of Vanessa Hudgens, then? Everything you need to know about Cole Tucker’s connection to the former Disney star is provided here.
He’s from Arizona
Phoenix is where Tucker was born and reared. As a senior, he represented Team USA in the 18U Baseball World Cup while playing baseball at Mountain Pointe High School.
He just exuded confidence and self-belief in himself, which gave him that “it” element. Nobody was going to take that away from him. According to AZ Central, his former high school coach Brandon Buck, “he would find a way to get it done.”
He met Hudgens over Zoom
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hudgens and Tucker first connected in a Zoom meditation group.
At an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, she remarked, “I get on the Zoom, and I’m like, ‘Who is that?'”
Hudgens revealed that she was the one who contacted the professional athlete after their first meeting.
“I fully just slid into his DMs and was like, ‘Hey, it was nice to meet you.’ So I think there is no shame in making the first move,” she added, adding, “Why wait for someone else to give you what you want?”
He and Hudgens announced their engagement in 2023
Tucker proposed to Hudgens in Paris about two years after the two began dating. In February 2023, the actress shared the news on Instagram.
“Yes. “We are ecstatic,” she wrote as the caption for pictures of the couple cuddling and a closer view of the engagement ring.
“I adore it. It always diverts my attention,” she said to PEOPLE in March 2023.
She also disclosed that she was already feeling overburdened by the wedding preparations. Hudgens remarked, “It’s a big daunting thing—so much goes into it.” “Like Gwen Stefani said, this s— is bananas.”
He is an MLB player
2014 saw Tucker selected by Major League Baseball in the first round of the draft. He was selected with the 24th overall choice and played shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2014 to 2022. That same year, he left the Pirates and signed a short contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks, his home team.
“With the Pirates, I feel like I went through so many different emotions,” Tucker said to AZ Central in June 2022. “They drafted me when I was a 17-year-old senior in high school, and I went on to succeed with them when I joined the major leagues. There are so many wonderful individuals there, and I’m truly grateful and humbled by everything.
He told the publication that he was “excited to make the most of this opportunity, and excited to be close to the home” when asked about his future plans.
Injury prevented Tucker from making it to the main leagues with the Diamondbacks, and he signed a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies in late 2022. He made the decision to become a free agent in October 2023.
Hudgens is his biggest cheerleader
The Dog Days star has a history of cheering her fiance on during his games, going so far as to support him while he was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates early in their romance.
Hudgens was seen supporting Tucker on his first at-bat in August 2023, when he was spotted in the stands for his Colorado Rockies debut.
“I’ve attended a great deal of games—way more than I have in a year compressed,” Hudgens remarked to Entertainment Tonight in November 2021. “I enjoy going to support and encourage him.”
His brother is also a baseball player
Not only does Tucker have a brother who plays professional baseball, but his younger brother Carson Tucker was selected in the 2020 MLB Draft by the Cleveland Guardians. He was selected as a shortstop with the 23rd overall choice, which Tucker had foreseen years earlier.
“Spending the evening with @DookieTucker29. The child never stops working. He tweeted a picture of Carson in a batting cage in 2013 with the caption, “Little man’s gonna go first round.”
Tucker shared his professional expertise with others ahead of his brother’s draft.
In June 2020, he told MLB.com, “Carson Tucker is my favorite player, and I’m rooting for him, pulling for him, and watching his every move.” “I’m just trying to participate in the process as much as I can, wearing both my baseball player and big brother hats.”
Carson currently plays for the Guardians’ Single-A affiliate, the Lynchburg Hillcats.
According to The Athletic, their dad, Jackie Tucker, played minor league baseball, while their mother, Erin Tucker, ran track and played volleyball at the University of Arizona, demonstrating the athletic heritage of the family.
He was a High School Musical fan long before he met Hudgens
According to a 2012 tweet, Tucker has been a Wildcats fan for more than ten years. “In search of: A girl who’s down to watch High School Musical with me and scratch my back,” the then-teenager said in a letter.
In order to resemble Corbin Bleu’s baseball player character, Chad Danforth, from the musical series, he even grew out his hair.
“I thought to myself in fourth grade, ‘Man, I’m going to grow my hair out.'” In March 2020, he told The Athletic, “I’m going to look like Corbin Bleu and it’s going to be the coolest thing ever.” “I have done so and I continue to do so. It may seem like a nerd to say that, but it’s actually what transpired. It sort of turned into my passion.
He helped launch the You Can! Foundation
Along with fellow MLB players Cody Bellinger and Jamie Westbrook, Tucker founded the You Can! Foundation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The program’s goal is to generate funds and awareness for the mental health and well-being of poor adolescents.
In September 2021, Tucker told MLB.com, “[We] were just talking and thinking, ‘Hey, we have this platform, and we have these thoughts of what would be good to help in our backyard and all around the country with things that we care about.
He continued, “I also believe that it’s something that affects everyone, regardless of who you are or what you do.”
His hobbies include playing music and golfing
Tucker enjoys playing the guitar and drums in his own time, and he frequently shares pictures from his practice sessions on Instagram.
Although Hudgens rarely attends his sessions, the two have collaborated on stage. While out with pals, the two sang “I’m Real,” a 2001 smash song by Jennifer Lopez and Ja Rule, on the karaoke stage.
In addition, Tucker likes to practice his swing on the golf course and post pictures from his travels online.
Hudgens plans to take his last name when they get married
Hudgens stated that after she and Tucker are married, she wants to go by “Mrs. T” during an appearance on Today with Hoda & Jenna.
She said, “I’m probably going to take it,” using her fiancé’s last name. “Like, professionally it’s obviously going to stay the same.”
