High School Musical: The Musical — The Series’ couples have been a rollercoaster to say the least (which is not unexpected for a Disney teen drama show), and they range anywhere from absolutely warm and heart melting to a slow-motion train wreck. The relationships amongst the Wildcats have truly beenwildon screen and off, but amidst the will they/won’t theys, and the pining and heartbreaks, some truly lovable couples have come out of the woodwork. This article will be taking a look at all the canon pairings offered throughout the show thus far (with no regard to any of the events that transpired among the actors off-screen). So let’s shine a light on the truly amazing ships this show has to offer!
7. E.J. Caswell and Nini Salazar-Roberts
E.J. (Matt Cornett) and Nini (Olivia Rodrigo) were the main couple to open up Season 1, creating a love triangle with Nini having to decide between E.J. and her ex-boyfriend Ricky Bowen (Joshua Bassett). The two were originally looking to be the drama club power couple with Nini scoring a leading role and E.J. enthusiastically supporting her while he also pursues being upgraded from being the understudy to lead. However, this couple crashed and burned pretty quickly with Nini realizing that E.J. was willing to lie and steal in order to get ahead. This couple mainly served to kickstart Nini and E.J.’s eventual character arcs, but they definitely weren’t a perfect match from the short period we saw them together.
6. Ricky Bowen and Gina Porter
Ricky and Gina (Sofia Wylie) were great together… until they weren’t. In Season 1, the two had so much potential. “Homecoming” left the two teetering on a will they/won’t they situation. The match seemed the exact emotional support both characters needed. Gina made Ricky a turkey hat and everything was going well! But then, Gina had to suddenly move away again, and Ricky got back together with Nini, leaving both with no closure.
Then Season 2 comes around, and Ricky is just so in love with Nini and is trying to make their long distance relationship work. Meanwhile, Gina watches from the sidelines and keeps getting sadder and sadder because clueless Ricky doesn’t realize he’s using her as a surrogate for trying to figure out how to talk to Nini about his feelings. Season 2 is a lot of Gina being sad and confused over Ricky, and Ricky not being able to see anything beyond his relationship with Nini. It is simply not fun to watch. Then, once Gina puts her foot down and tries to establish some boundaries between her and Ricky at Carlos’ Quinceñero, the two end up barely talking for the rest of the season. Who knows what Season 3 could entail for the pairing? But to be completely honest, Ricky needs therapy to deal with his abandonment issues more than he needs to be in another relationship.
5. Ricky Bowen and Nini Salazar-Roberts
Ricky and Nini have been all over the place throughout Seasons 1 and 2. Opening with their non-mutual breakup in Season 1, their relationship was mainly centered around the two characters learning to grow and reconnect (especially on Ricky’s end) as they slowly fell for one another all over again. After Ricky’s dramatic and emotional confession at the end of Season 1, the two rekindled their relationship and were ready to take on the Spring Musical together.
Then Nini got into the Youth Actors Conservatory and had to move to Chicago, and so the long distance relationship began. With it, Ricky’s fear of abandonment and general clinginess towards Nini grew as she tried to pave a path for herself in the world. Ricky and Nini were so in love at the start of Season 2, and they worked really hard to make the long distance relationship work. There was a lot of love between them at the start. They were initially that couple that were so sweet that it was borderline cavity-inducing. Even during their breakup, it was evident how much they still loved one another. But, they soon realized, no matter how much they cared about each other, they weren’t right together.
This relationship brought out a lot of Ricky’s insecurities though, and it quickly went from cozy to suffocating because of how afraid and controlling he became. Ultimately, Season 2 had the couple ranging anywhere from overly sweet and lovey-dovey to overbearing and borderline toxic, but it also showed that two people can love each other and still not be what the other needs at that point in their life.
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4. Kourtney Greene and Howie
It’s about time that Kourtney (Dara Reneé) received a romantic subplot! Kourtney and Howie (Roman Banks) start out as coworkers at Slices pizzeria who are butting heads because of how stubborn they both can be. Once Howie realizes that Kourtney isn’t a flakey employee like all the others and that she is actually fun to be around, the chemistry soars and the pair clearly enjoys their time together. Howie takes notice of the smaller aspects of how Kourtney works (like how she uses her flashcards to study and he brought them to her in the snow storm without being asked), and Kourtney gets to be goofy in a way she doesn’t get to with the rest of the Wildcat cast. Kourtney has a cute (and very in character) confession where she is both very determined to say how she feels yet is too nervous to let Howie speak before she gets out the entire confession, and his nerdyHarry Potter-based response sets the perfect tone for their relationship. It’s fantastic to see Kourtney giggling while texting Howie and being totally caught in the honeymoon phase.
However, these two end up falling into the Romeo and Juliet relationship trope once it comes to light that Howie actually attends East High’s rival school North High and is in their drama department. This entire mini-arc causes some skepticism of Howie’s motives for sure, but his rendition of “If I Can’t Love Her” is so sweet and tragic that you’re able to’t help but forgive him.
While he isn’t totally in the clear for lying, and his nervous behavior during the finale was definitely sketchy, hopefully the schools’ rivalry isn’t enough to keep the two apart because they truly bring out the best in one another. (We will definitely still be keeping an eye on Howie though.)
3. Gina Porter and E.J. Caswell
An unexpected pairing in Season 2, Gina and E.J. are a surprisingly fun couple. While they’re both feeling sad over their exes, Ricky and Nini respectively, the two start to bond over the comfort they find in one another, calling themselves “Team Wonderstudies” because they were both understudies in Season 1. While Gina is afraid of putting herself out there again after getting such a non-response from Ricky, she is encouraged by those around her to trust that she knows E.J. cares about her and thus should take a chance on pursuing him. E.J. meets Gina where she is and is the first person to make her feel truly comfortable with her emotions.
In turn, E.J. is encouraged by Gina to be the truest version of himself and to grow as a person. Initially in the season, E.J. gets rejected from his dream college, Duke University, but his father gets him admitted anyway through the financial sway he holds, and Gina encourages him to do what he feels is right. E.J. rejects the admission when he realizes that he wants to truly earn something in his life instead of having it handed to him.
2. Seb Matthew-Smith and Carlos Rodriguez
A (mostly) wholesome couple, Seb (Joe Serafini) and Carlos (Frankie Rodriguez) are one of the most significant gay couples Disney has created yet. This couple began in the episode “Homecoming,” back when Seb was just a supporting character, and the two of them dancing together was one of the most heart-swelling moments of the season. The rest of their relationship was peppered in comments throughout the rest of the season, but Seb was upgraded to a main character Season 2, and the two truly got to shine.
Season 2 brought along the show’s (as well as Disney’s) first live-action gay kiss in “The Quinceñero” episode, and Seb singing “The Climb” for Carlos was practically tear-inducing. They truly get some of the most romantic scenes in the show, and it’s great to see an LGBTQ+ couple being openly romantic in a Disney show. But being upgraded to a lead character does come with its drama. Seb and Carlos have some problems throughout the second half of Season 2. Seb doesn’t feel like he’s good enough for Carlos, but Carlos is too oblivious to notice. While Seb tends to be the ditzy type of character most of the time, when Carlos starts unintentionally hurting his feelings, Seb begins to question if Carlos is only dating him because they are the only two out gay kids in East High. However, Carlos reassures him that no matter what, Seb will always be his first choice by singing “In a Heartbeat” (with the help of Ricky’s songwriting prowess) and the callbacks to Season 1’s Homecoming dance between the two cements how much they care for each other.
While these two have their problems, the chemistry and romance in their scenes is so palpable you can’t help but adore the two of them together.
1. Big Red and Ashlyn Caswell
Unlike Ricky and Gina, Big Red (Larry Saperstein) and Ashlyn (Julia Lester) only got better in Season 2. Easily the healthiest couple in this entire series, their story arc began when Big Red develops a crush on Ashlyn halfway through Season 1. This couple made Big Red a bit flirtatious in the most wholesome way possible, and with the season ending with Big Red gifting Ashlyn the biggest bouquet possible, they were given the final kiss of the season in an after-credits scene. Then Season 2 came around and the two flourished! Now, all Big Red wants is to do right by Ashlyn because he adores her in every way possible, and he wants to give her the world because he believes she deserves it.
Meanwhile, Ashlyn loves his sincerity and is always encouraging him to go out of his comfort zone and do the best he can. What truly makes this couple shine though is how they properly communicate their issues to one another. When both Ashlyn and Big Red are feeling insecure about themselves in the relationship, instead of letting it fester into drama, they talk about it together and agree to accept that they’re both just a bit scared, but still truly support each other either way. The song “Red Means Love” and the Valentine’s Day episode is the highlight of Red and Ashlyn’s relationship. Any time there is drama between the two, it is typically resolved within an episode because they know how to be mature and listen to what the other is feeling.
A couple who is happy together and deals with their issues in a healthy and supportive way is a rarity, especially in a teen drama, but such a breath of fresh air!
