Selena Gomez’s Alex was meant to have a gay romance on Wizards of Waverly Place

Disney Channel’s Wizards of Waverly Place almost featured a gay relationship between Selena Gomez and Hayley Kiyoko’s characters, according to the show’s producer.

Wizards of Waverly Place starred Gomez as Alex Russo, the show’s protagonist and one of three Russo children who were training to become wizards.

While Gomez’s character ended up being with werewolf Mason Greyback, she was almost written into a relationship with Kiyoko’s character Stevie Nichols, in what would have been Disney Channel’s first explicitly queer couple. 

Speaking on the Wizards of Waverly Pod podcast, hosted by Jennifer Stone and David DeLuise, who played Harper Finkle and Jerry Russo respectively, the show’s executive producer Peter Murrieta said the writers “weren’t able to” execute the romance.

“I wished we could have played more with what was quite obvious to a lot of us, which was the relationship between Stevie and Alex,” Murrieta said.

“We weren’t able to at that time, but it was pretty clear to all of us what that relationship was.”

The revelation that Stevie and Alex were always meant to be a queer couple isn’t exactly surprising to many fans, who have for years referred to the pair as “Stalex“.

Stone herself revealed that she wanted to see the couple get together, writing in a TikTok post: “We know you wanted Stalex… we wanted it too.”

@jenniferlstone

We know you wanted Stalex…we wanted it too. #wizardspod #wizardsofwaverlyplace #disneytok

♬ original sound – Jennifer Stone

Wizards of Waverly Place ran from 2007 to 2012, with Murrieta suggesting that having an LGBTQ+ relationship on a Disney show back then wouldn’t have been possible.

“That would have been fun. Disney Channel has had [LGBTQ+] characters, and they did it, but we got as close as we could. Pretty close. It was pretty much right there,” he said.

Fans of the Disney show are feeling “vindication” for the clarification, after years of assuming Selena Gomez’s Alex and Kiyoko’s Stevie were made for each other – and for gay fans.

“I didn’t even know I was gay yet and I knew what was going on. I’m so happy,” declared one thrilled fan.

“You know how much quicker I would’ve realised I was gay if this happened when I was child,” another said. 

“We were robbed!” another summarised.

https://twitter.com/safeforbi/status/1640555006981206016?s=20

All I’ve learned in adulthood is that every favorite character I had as a kid was actually gay/gay coded https://t.co/aCZ0XhmJJd

— © (@holcene) March 27, 2023

VINDICATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! https://t.co/RZRRpzcwSk

— puzzles (@plzgivemetea) March 27, 2023

https://twitter.com/aeoqra/status/1640649558404497413?s=20

they made me gay actually https://t.co/nmPWPEVg0U

— #FreePalestine marxist-lesbianist-botevist 🍳 (@Ieesbianism) March 28, 2023

Kiyoko herself has acknowledged how obvious it was that Stevie and Alex were destined for love.

Talking about her time on the show, Kiyoko said: “At this time, I wasn’t openly queer, and so when I was on Wizards, I think anytime I was doing a show I felt very insecure or exposing myself as a flaming lesbian.

“But obviously [for] the fans who have watched the show, Stevie is a part of their gay awakening, and I wasn’t able to mask my lesbian energy very much in the character,” she told Them.

Following calls from fans, Disney has promised to amp up the number of LGBTQ+ characters in its series and films.