— -- Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens started dating almost a decade ago after starring together on “High School Musical."

The couple split a few years back and now the young actress is opening up about dating in the spotlight.

“I went through a phase when I was really mean because I was so fed up,” she told the New York Times.

She added, “Girls were running after him, and I was giving them death stares. Then I realized that’s not what that’s about. ‘Spread the love, be a good person, they support you, be nice.’ ”

Hudgens, who is now happily in a relationship with fellow actor Austin Butler, also admitted, “I’m a definite hippie."

“I’m literally my happiest self when I’m dancing half naked on a grass field listening to Led Zeppelin," she added.

The "Gigi" star, 26, also "used to be on the fence about" feminism, but "now I feel like there’s this new wave of feminists coming up that are truly about equal rights for women. I mean, Beyoncé is, like, killing the game, and I love her."