Everything is certainly not as it seems–or is it? In a viral TikTok, Hayley Kiyoko, who starred on the hit Disney Channel show Wizards of Waverly Place, responded to the news that her character, Stevie Nichols, was in a queer relationship with Selena Gomez’s character Alex Russo.
In a recent episode of Wizards of Waverly Pod, hosted by Jennifer Stone and David DeLuise, who played beloved fan-favorites Harper Finkle and Jerry Russo, the show’s head writer Peter Murietta confirmed the longtime fan theory that Stevie and Alex were in a relationship.
“We could have played more with the relationship,” Murietta said when Stone asked which storyline he would’ve liked to have explored. “It was pretty clear to all of us what that relationship was.”
Murietta explained that the writers did as much as they could to explore the relationship onscreen during that time. Wizards, which ran from 2007 to 2012, would have been the first Disney show to feature an out LGBTQ+ character. It wasn’t until two years later in 2014 that Good Luck Charlie had Disney’s first gay couple, and even then it was only for one episode.
Though some fans were surprised to discover that Stevie and Alex were more than than close friends, others like Kiyoko herself had long-since suspected that the two wizard “besties” were in fact queer.
Following the podcast episode’s release, Kiyoko took to TikTok to respond. In the video, the singer and writer lip-syncs to the sound, “Are you sure about that?” while reacting to a montage of her character and Alex’s close moments.
@hayleykiyoko Stalex fans are winning 🤷♀️ #wizardsofwaverlyplace #wlw ♬ You Sure About That _ ITYSL – Scott Holford
Kiyoko even tagged Gomez in the video and in her caption addressed the Stevie and Alex shippers with: “Stalex fans are winning,” followed by the hashtags #wizardsofwaverlyplace and #wlw.
In the age of reboots and Disney featuring more openly queer characters, could a reunion mean bringing Kiyoko and the cast back on the show? After only a brief stint of four episodes, Stevie and Alex would have plenty to catch up on, especially as Disney’s expanded its exploration of queer characters.
Unfortunately, there hasn’t been any mention of Disney’s plan for a reboot, but on their podcast, Stone and DeLuise said that they would want to be a part of a Wizard’s revival and even DeLuise said that as far as he knew, Selena would want to be a part of the show as well.
Who knows? Maybe with the buzz from fans reacting to the sapphic news, Disney will finally give the long-awaited green light for fans to finally see “Stalex” onscreen.
