Who is Austin Butler Dating?: The 'Elvis' Star's Relationship Timeline

The once-teenage heartthrob Austin Butler is sweeping up award nominations and wins for his stunning, chaotic and splashy performance as the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley. 

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As the second-highest-grossing music biopic of all time (behind Bohemian Rhapsody in 2018), Elvis (2022) swept away its viewers with its outrageous costumes, catchy songs and Butler's dazzling portrayal, earning widespread acclaim. Butler has already grabbed the Critics Choice Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Drama and was nominated for an elusive Oscar. 

Since first making his television debut on Nickelodeon's Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide in 2005, the 31-year-old Butler has become one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood. 

While many celebrities, including Butler, seem to prefer to keep their work and personal lives separate, Butler's love life may have actually helped propel him into Oscar-worthy stardom. Here's how his previous relationship may have landed him his role in Elvis and a look into who he's dating now.

How Vanessa Hudgens Predicted Butler's Elvis Role

Disney's High School Musical star, Vanessa Hudgens, and Butler were together for nearly a decade, officially calling it quits in January 2020. The pair walked numerous red carpets together and were captured kissing or holding hands by dozens of paparazzi for years. Unfortunately, a large portion of their relationship was spent on different sides of the country or the globe, and the pair eventually split. 

But while they were still dating, the couple went through many tough and instrumental moments together. They supported each other as they grew up in the spotlight and tried to establish their place in the entertainment industry. 

However, Butler recently shared that Hudgens is also partially responsible for even considering a role as Elvis. 

During The Hollywood Reporter's Actors Roundtable in January, Butler said people had told him for years that he looked like the King, though he never believed them. Then, in the winter of 2018, Butler and a "friend" of his were looking at Christmas lights when Elvis' Blue Christmas came on the radio. He recounted that he began singing and the friend looked over at him and said, "You've got to play Elvis."

Butler said he brushed the idea off. But then the next month, the same friend heard him playing the piano and singing. Though he never sang or played music for anyone, the friend told him, "I'm serious. You gotta figure out how you can get the rights to a script." It also helped the natural blonde had been sporting dyed dark hair at the time, making him look even more like the rock legend.

Not long after that moment at the piano, Butler says he received a call from his agent telling him Baz Luhrmann was working on a biopic for Elvis. The Nickelodeon alumnus said the hairs on his arms stood up when he heard that.

And, of course, Butler was cast as Elvis in July 2019, while he and Hudgens were still together.

Butler finally confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that it was his ex who encouraged him to go after that role.  

"We'd been together for so long and she had this sort of clairvoyant moment and so I really owe her a lot for believing in me," Butler said.

Who's Kaia Gerber?

It's now been more than a year since model and actress (and nepo baby) Kaia Gerber was first seen with Butler, and the two seem happier than ever. But who is she?

Gerber made her modeling debut at Fashion Week in 2017 at just 18 years old. Unsurprisingly, she must get her modeling prowess and striking good looks from her supermodel mother, Cindy Crawford. The two have even worked together in modeling campaigns for the watch brand Omega. 

Gerber has already achieved The Big Four of Vogue covers (American Vogue, British Vogue, Vogue France and Vogue Italia). She's also modeled for a number of high-end fashion houses including Marc Jacobs, Burberry, Saint Laurent and Alexander McQueen, among others. 

But she's not just a pretty face. Gerber first started acting at 15. She's earned roles in FX's horror anthology American Horror Story and will star in the upcoming miniseries from Apple TV, Mrs. American Pie alongside Laura Dern and Kirsten Wiig. 

Gerber and Butler's Relationship Timeline 

While Gerber may not have first planted the idea to play Elvis in Butler's head, she has undoubtedly supported him through all the ups and downs that have come from his breakout film role. 

Though the couple has been pretty secretive and private about their personal life together, here's what we know about the pair.

Rumors first started to swirl they were dating in December 2021 when photos obtained by The Daily Mail showed the two at a yoga class together in Los Angeles. The model had just ended her year-long relationship with Euphoria actor Jacob Elordio only one month prior. 

Over the next several months, various photos of the pair appeared on magazines and social media showing them walking around an outdoor supermarket in LA, holding hands in London on Valentine's Day or leaving a hotel together in Paris. 

After dating for around three months, Gerber and Butler finally made a public appearance together at W Magazine's annual Best Performances party before the Oscars. They didn't walk the red carpet together, however, Butler was caught giving Gerber a kiss on the cheek inside the event. 

At one of the biggest fashion events of the year, the couple made their red carpet debut at the 2022 Met Gala. They walked separately and posed for the barrage of cameras, but shared a kiss at the top of the Metropolitan Museum of Art staircase. 

Later that month, the couple were seen holding each other's faces and sharing enthusiastic kisses at the premiere of Elvis at the Cannes Film Festival. Photographers caught the pair smiling, laughing and gazing into each other's eyes throughout the day. 

Gerber's wrist tattoo that read, "I know" also gave it away that the pair were photographed together for a magazine. In Butler's black-and-white photoshoot for VMAN 49's Fall-Winter 2022 issue, the actor has his back to the camera, and we only see the upper half of his face. But there are two arms wrapped around his shoulders, with the person's face and body hidden. Gerber's tattoos made it easy for fans to identify her.  

Gerber and Butler also were seen passionately kissing backstage after he accepted the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama film in January 2023. They reportedly spent the rest of the evening celebrating and cuddling during the night's after-parties.

Most recently, Gerber was spotted holding hands with Butler while walking to the Graceland memorial service for Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis' daughter, in Graceland. Presley died only two days after attending the Golden Globes alongside Butler and her mother, Priscilla Presley, from cardiac arrest. Butler became close to the Presley family while shooting Elvis, and we have no doubt Gerber's presence was comforting to him during the service. 

While the film star hasn't publicly said much about his love life with Hudgens or Gerber, Butler told GQ last summer that life is full of changes.

"You've got to find a way to constantly be evolving and growing."

READ MORE: Austin Butler Explains His Ever-Present 'Elvis': Voice: 'Pieces of My DNA Will Always Be Linked'