Alex Russo was forced to leave some tricks up her sleeve.
The showrunner of Wizards of Waverly Place—which starred Selena Gomez as teenage wizard Alex from 2007 to 2012 on Disney Channel—finally addressed rumors about Selena's character being part of the LGBTQ+ community. According to producer Peter Murrieta, the show wanted to explore Alex's sexuality a bit more in-depth but felt constrained by the era.
"I wished we could have played more with what was quite obvious to a lot of us; the relationship between Stevie and Alex," Peter revealed on the Wizards of Waverly Pod podcast March 27. "But we weren't able to in that time. It was pretty clear to all of us what that relationship was. That would have been fun."
Stevie Nichols, played by Hayley Kiyoko, showed up in season three of the series and immediately formed a bond with Alex after meeting in detention. The undeniable sparks between the duo often caused Waverly Place fans to wonder if their relationship was more than platonic.
"We got as close as we could," Peter said on the pod, hosted by Waverly Place alums Jennifer Stone and David DeLuise. "It was pretty much right there."
While his show wasn't able to peel back the layers of Alex and Stevie's relationship, Peter acknowledged that the network has made more progressive strides in recent years.
"Disney Channel has had [queer] characters," he noted. "They did it. At that time, it wasn't a thing."
In the 2016 series finale of the animated comedy Gravity Falls, Sheriff Blubs (Kevin Michael Richardson) and Deputy Durland (Keith Ferguson) confirmed they were in a relationship.
Additionally, shows like Star Wars Resistance, The Owl House and The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder have featured LGBTQ+ representation on Disney Channel since Wizards of Waverly Place left the airwaves.
Selena, meanwhile, has gone on to play a queer character on a different show: Hulu's Only Murders in the Building. In season two, Selena's character Mabel began dating artist Alex Banks, played by Cara Delevingne.
To watch all the will they-or-won't they tension between Alex and Stevie for yourself, all four seasons of Wizards of Waverly Place are available to stream on Disney+.