Entertainment

Disney Channel Has Some Epic #TBT Couples

by Daniela Cabrera

Nowadays when I turn on the television, it can be hard for me to recognize the young new actors out there, so I guess that means that I am officially OLD. OK, so maybe I'm not that old, but with the crop of newbies making waves, I feel like I'm always in the mood to reminisce about the days when I spent my summertime devouring every bit of programming that Disney Channel had to offer. I definitely used to be obsessed with the proto-reality show Bug Juice and the comedy Even Stevens (I still hold a soft spot for Shia LaBeouf.) Since I'm on a throwback kick, I thought it'd be fun to round up the most memorable real-life couples from Disney Channel's heyday in the early to mid '00s.

Sure, I am still guilty of being entirely too immersed in who celebrities are dating and all that, but things were much more intense when I was in my early teens. My heart was broken when I heard Justin Timberlake was dating Britney Spears, and I made sure everyone in my family knew about it. So, in the interest of other sweet memories like that, while the Disney Channel had some pretty epic love stories on-screen, let's check out the actors who took their crushes off-screen and broke plenty of fans' hearts along the way.

1. Vanessa Hudgens & Zac Efron

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There cannot be a list of Disney couples without mentioning ZANESSA. They two cuties met on the set of the phenomenon High School Musical and quickly became BF/GF off set. When you're that cute, why not?

2. Nick Jonas & Selena Gomez

There might have recently been rumors of these two reuniting again in adulthood, but Gomez and Jonas shared a little fling when they were only 16 and 15 years old, respectively. Gomez appeared in the Jonas Brothers video for "Burnin' Up" and got people talking that the Disney cuties were dating. They also bonded over their wearing of chastity rings. Oh, how the times have changed.

3. Demi Lovato & Joe Jonas

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Those Jonas Brothers definitely went around the Disney block, didn't they? The friends tried their hand at a romance in 2010, but Jonas confessed that her substance abuse issues at the time stopped their relationship. The couple has gotten over their problems post-breakup and are now like family. She's even going on tour with his brother, Nick!

4. Hilary Duff & Aaron Carter

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Duff and Carter met way back in 2001 when he was a guest star on Lizzie McGuire. The two began to date on and off for about two years, until, rumor has it, he left her for Lindsay Lohan. Ouch. Carter has since tried to profess his love for Duff, but that ship had sailed.

5. Nick Jonas & Miley Cyrus

Both Miley Cyrus and Nick Jonas are light years away from the innocent teenagers they were when they first fell in love. Cyrus and Jonas dated for a year and a half, but maintain that there is no ill will towards each other now. Jonas even confessed that it's unfortunate that they aren't as close as they used to be.

6. Joe Jonas & AJ Michalka

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Who knew Joe Jonas was always such a heartbreaker? In the mid-'00s the Jonas Brothers and AJ & Aly were killing it on screen and in their music careers. Rumors had it that struggles with being long distance broke up the young lovers, and he reportedly forgot her birthday which led to AJ & Aly's song, "Potential Break Up Song." I think they're both better off now, anyway.

Although they've all dated different people and moved in very different directions, it's cool to know that all of these ex Disney kids that we saw growing up are still (mostly) friends and supporting each other in some way.

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