Peter Murrieta, former showrunner of Wizards of Waverly Place, has confirmed a long-standing theory about series protagonist Alex Russo (played by Selena Gomez).
On the most recent episode of the Wizards of Waverly Pod, hosted by former stars Jennifer Stone (Harper Finkle) and David DeLuise (Jerry Russo), Murrieta was asked if there were storylines he wished he could’ve explored further.
“Easy, easy, easy,” he said. “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.
“We weren’t able to in that time, but it was pretty clear to all of us what that relationship was. And that would have been fun.”
In the third season of the beloved Disney Channel fantasy series, Alex becomes friends with Hayley Kiyoko’s breakout character Stevie Nichols.
Fans noticed their palpable, sapphic chemistry and have championed them as secret lovers ever since with the ‘ship’ name Stalex.
With LGBTQ+ representation substantially increasing since the show’s conclusion, Stone said Disney Channel might’ve signed off on the romance “a few years down the line,” while LeLuise noted: “Nowadays, that could happen.”
“Yeah, they did it,” Murrieta continued. “Disney Channel has had [LGBTQ+] characters, and they did it. At that time, it wasn’t a thing.
“But we got as close as we could… Pretty close. It was pretty much there. That would have been great.”
In a TikTok with footage from the podcast, Stone continued to advocate for the romance as she wrote: “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
Speaking with Them last year, Kiyoko – who is openly lesbian slash ‘Lesbian Jesus’ – said she’s aware of how much the relationship meant to queer fans.
“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,” she said.
“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.”
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