“They were introduced by her boss,” a source tells WHO exclusively.
And after hitting things off, Valladares, 25, is said to have since left her job as a waitress and is now living with the actor at Belongil Beach.
Efron has been living in Byron Bay since leaving the US earlier this year. And it seems he’s taken a liking to the idyllic beachside town, with sources saying he is eyeing up a property there.
Last month, the actor cancelled a flight back to LA after his visa was officially extended from three months to 12.
“He was only planning to fly home if he had to,” a source told Daily Mail at the time.
“He didn’t really want to go back to America.”
The Greatest Showman star recently touched on his desire to leave Los Angeles in an episode of his new Netflix docuseries, Down to Earth with Zac Efron.
“[I] gotta get out of Hollywood,” Efron shared, revealing the lifestyle is “not conducive” to a “long, happy, mentally sound life”.
But while a sea change has always been on the cards for the actor, it seems his blossoming romance with the brunette beauty has also played a part in his decision to stay Down Under.
Before Valladares, the actor dated actress Halston Sage and was also linked to his Baywatch co-star Alexandra Daddario in 2018.
It’s only been in recent years that Efron has started thinking about long-term love.
“I didn’t think much about settling down until recently,” he shared.
“I’m around some great relationships … I’m realising that you have to find your own happiness before you can make somebody else happy.”
