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'Wizards Of Waverly Place' Writers Say This Character Was Secretly Bi
The chemistry between Alex and Stevie (Hayley Kiyoko) was absolutely real!
Wizards of Waverly Place fans who always got bisexual vibes from Alex Russo are finally being vindicated over a decade later.
Showrunner Peter Murrieta recently admitted that the chemistry between Alex (Selena Gomez) and Stevie (Hayley Kiyoko) was something that he and the rest of the writers were all too aware of, but that they were unable to follow through with doing anything about it because of the climate at Disney Channel at the time.
The topic came up when Murietta stopped by Wizards of Waverly Pod, a rewatch podcast for the show by former stars Jennifer Stone and David DeLuise. In a now-viral clip, Stone asked him if there were any storylines he wished they could have pursued during the series.
“We could have played more with the relationship between Stevie and Alex,” he said. “But we weren’t able to in that time. But it was pretty clear to all of us what that relationship was.”
He added that Disney Channel has since had characters explore their sexuality on TV shows, but it wasn’t something that was done during the time Wizards of Waverly Place was on the air, from 2007 to 2012. The network’s first gay couple didn’t appear until 2014, when Good Luck Charlie included an episode where a character had two moms, and the first series regular didn’t come out until Andi Mack in 2017.
But even still, as any queer TV fan can tell you, there’s a massive difference between a network or individual show allowing LGBTQ+ characters and them allowing the main character to realize they aren’t straight based on chemistry between actors and the natural evolution of the series. It’s far more common to see the people in charge dig in their heels and refuse to acknowledge what fans can see clear as day, so it both feels unlikely that Wizards would have allowed for Alex to explore her bisexuality had the show been on today, and commendable that Murrieta and the writers were aware that she should have.
“We got as close as we could,” he said. “It was pretty close.”
Neither Gomez nor Kiyoko have weighed in on the revelation as of yet, but one can only imagine they would have been down to run with a Stalex relationship, had the option been there. Maybe it’s time for a little Wizards of Waverly Place reunion series, just to set the record, for lack of a better word, straight.
Wizards of Waverly Place aired its series finale in 2012.
The series reportedly ended so that Gomez could move on to more mature roles.
Alex ended up with Max (Gregg Sulkin), and the two were still together in Alex vs. Alex, the TV movie that aired a year after the series concluded. However, they were still young, and could definitely have broken up in the past decade.
Rachel Kiley is presumably a writer and definitely not a terminator. She can usually be found crying over queerbaiting in the Pitch Perfect franchise or on Twitter, if not both.
Rachel Kiley is presumably a writer and definitely not a terminator. She can usually be found crying over queerbaiting in the Pitch Perfect franchise or on Twitter, if not both.
