Engagement Rumors Swirl Around Zac and Vanessa

Wonderwall, Monday, August 17, 2009, 5:13am (PDT)

By Kat Giantis

Vanessa Hudgens can breathe a sigh of relief. Not only has her second nekkid photo scandal quickly blown over, but she's now the subject of an image-burnishing rumor courtesy of British tabloid News of the World, which claims she and her longtime squeeze, Zac Efron, are planning to tie the knot.

"We haven't set a date and if we did we'd keep it secret for as long as possible," the tab quotes the starlet as saying. "Why? What if one of us was offered a major film part? Then we'd have to postpone our marriage and people would say we'd split up. And we don't want that."

So, are Vanessa, 20, and Zac, 21, planning to take each other in sickness and in health, in bad hair days and good, until death do they part, possibly in a "High School Musical"-esque aisle-walk extravaganza, complete with singing bridesmaids and the most G-rated bachelor party in history?

Not so much. When we contacted the actress's rep for comment on the engagement rumors, she succinctly told us, "Not true."

Just last month, Hudgens, whose new movie, "Bandslam," opened to lukewarm weekend box office, told People magazine that she had no plans to get hitched anytime soon, which we assume means until she's at least legally able to raise a glass of champagne to toast her betrothal.

"I think [marriage and starting a family] is great," she said, "but I'm so focused on my career right now that it doesn't really cross my mind."

This is the second time this year that the "HSM" honeys, who began dating in 2005, have been hit with engagement talk. In February, the National Enquirer claimed that Zac had popped the question to Vanessa -- sans ring -- during a trip to Japan, a report their reps dismissed.