Are Joe Serafini and Frankie Rodriguez dating? All you need to know

Joe Serafini is an American actor who plays the role of Seb Matthew-Smith in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. The Pennsylvania native learned his trade at the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, appearing in numerous plays, including The Sound of Music, Into the Woods, and Anything Goes.

Frankie A. Rodriguez plays the role of Carlos Rodriguez in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. Rodriguez had a regular role in I’m Fine and recurring roles in This Close and Modern Family before he landed his role in High School Musical.

This piece will look at Joe and Frankie’s relationship. It is unclear whether they are dating.

It is natural for fans to ship actors who play each other’s love interest in shows, and these two actors are no different. Joe and Frankie’s characters have such a heartwarming romance on High School Musical that a section of fans are convinced that the actors are dating in real life.

Joe and Frankie are quite close, as evidenced by the photos of each other posted on their social media pages. However, they have not given anything away to confirm that they are dating. On 15th July 2020, Joe posted a couply Instagram photo of himself and Frankie alongside the following caption:

“Happy birthday to the fabulous Frankie Rodriguez! Thank you for being you and for bringing so much joy into my life!”

The evidence available suggests that Joe and Frankie are only friends. At the moment, doting fans will have to be content with the couple’s on-screen relationship. Disney has been criticized for failing to include LGBTQ relationships in its films and shows, but it received praise for its unfiltered exploration of Seb and Carlos’ relationship. Joe talked to Theatre Art Life about the impact of that relationship:

“I realized how special Carlos and Seb’s relationship [filming ‘Homecoming’]. Truthfully, it is such an honor to be able to tell their story with Frankie. I honestly wish I had a story like this to watch growing up, and I can’t believe that I get to be the one to do it now! The messages that I’ve gotten from viewers at home have been so meaningful to me.”

In High School Musical, Carlos is openly gay from the beginning – there is no huge coming out story as is the norm in many a Hollywood production. Like his character, Frankie didn’t experience a coming out moment. At the age of 15, he told friends and family that he was gay, and life went on as usual.

Frankie’s acceptance of his identity happened when he saw a gay, Hispanic character on screen. Now, through his character, Frankie is doing his best to spread the message of LGBTQ+ acceptance. He told The Salt Lake Tribune:

“I’ve gotten direct messages on Instagram from kids saying, ‘Carlos being himself gave me confidence to be myself.’ And that’s more than you can ask for as an actor.”

Joe, on the other hand, describes himself as bisexual. “I actually do believe that I am bisexual – if I have to give a label,” he told Mel Magazine.