From East High sweethearts to future husbands!
Frankie A. Rodriguez, 27, and Joe Serafini, 28, are engaged, adding a very happy new chapter to their real-life Disney love story.
Rodriguez shared the news Friday with a series of adorable Instagram photos featuring plenty of smiles, a piggyback ride and, most importantly, two shiny engagement rings.
“Engaged!” he captioned the post, adding a ring, heart and champagne glasses.
Naturally, their famous friends had plenty to say. Glen Powell wrote, “I love your love!!!! So damn happy for you!!” Meanwhile, their High School Musical: The Musical: The Series family flooded the comments with excitement.
Sofia Wylie wrote, “Screaming,” while Dara Reneé celebrated, “I’ve been praying for this moment! Love y’all so much!”
Matt Cornett declared them the “greatest couple of all time,” and Joshua Bassett responded with an excited scream. Series creator Tim Federle may have won the comments section, however, writing, “Nature is healing.”
Honestly, he’s right.
From Seblos to Soulmates
Rodriguez and Serafini met while filming the Disney+ series in 2019, where they played East High lovebirds, Carlos and Seb.
Their on-screen romance began when Carlos asked Seb to the Homecoming dance during the show’s first season. Even though Seb arrived three hours late because of a farm emergency, he still made it in time for a slow dance. The moment helped launch one of the show’s most beloved couples, affectionately known by fans as “Seblos.”
Thankfully, the sparks were not limited to the script.
“We met literally at East High School, and I mean, sparks flew,” Serafini told an audience during a 2022 concert in New York City. “The rest is history, I guess.”
During that same show, Rodriguez joined Serafini for a sweet duet of “Only Us” from Dear Evan Hansen. The couple has also performed together for Disney, proving that few things are more powerful than two theater boys in love with access to microphones.
A Disney Love Story Worth Celebrating
As Carlos and Seb, Rodriguez and Serafini made history as the first openly gay couple in the High School Musical franchise. Their relationship was allowed to be sweet, messy, musical, and wonderfully ordinary.
“It’s hard to wrap your heads around, even four years into these characters, just the power of their existence on the screen to people watching at home,” Serafini previously told Pride. “It’s just been so incredible to have them exist in this natural, not pushed or forced way. I mean, Seb and Carlos are just in a relationship. That’s all it really is.”
Now, the actors who gave queer Disney fans a couple to cheer for are preparing for their own big finale: a wedding.
We always knew East High had something special in the air.
