‘Wizards of Waverly Place’ Showrunner Says Selena Gomez’s Character Was Bisexual: ‘It Was Quite Obvious’
usmagazine.comThe couple that almost was. Selena Gomez could have had a groundbreaking relationship on Wizards of Waverly Place.Former showrunner and writer Peter Murrieta revealed on the Monday, March 27, episode of Jennifer Stone and David DeLuise’s “Wizards of Waverly Pod” that the show’s writers intended for Gomez’s character, Alex Russo, to have a romantic arc with guest star Hayley Kiyoko, who played Stevie Nichols.“I wished we could have played more with — well, it was quite obvious to a lot of us — was the relationship between Stevie and Alex,” the television producer shared. “But 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.”Kiyoko, 31 — who has been dating Bachelor Nation alum Becca Tilley since 2018 — appeared on four episodes of the Disney Chanel show’s third season in 2010.
During her story arc, Stevie befriended fellow teen wizard Alex before attempting to get her to join a wizarding world revolt.
In defeating her friend-turned-foe, Alex accidentally turned Stevie to stone and tipped the statue over. Alex ended the series in a relationship with her werewolf boyfriend, Mason, played by Gregg Sulkin.In the years since Wizards of Waverly Place’s conclusion in 2012 — and after the 2013 follow-up movie, The Wizards Return: Alex vs.
Alex — the children’s network has incorporated LGBTQ+ characters into several shows, most notably Andi Mack and the animated series The Owl House.“They did it,” Murrieta said on the podcast, referring to Disney Channel’s inclusion of queer characters. “At that time, it wasn’t a thing, but we got as close as we could to — I mean, it was pretty close.
