Ok, let’s admit it. The Biggest Forced Hetero Relationship on tv ever had to be Kelsi and Ryan from High school musical.
ALRIGHT KIDDOS IT’S TIME TO LEARN A THING.
Fun fact: Lucas Grabeel (the actor who played Ryan) had specifically asked the director if Ryan could be a gay character. The director (Kenny Ortega) thought that it was a great idea, and they both went to Disney to ask if they could pepper in the fact that Ryan was gay, or include a shot of him with a boy, maybe in the background.
Disney didn’t give the okay on that, so they had to instead force him into a relationship with Kelsi, despite neither Lucas or Kenny wanting him to be a straight character.
In the outtakes from the third movie, Lucas actually grabs Zeke (not sure of the actor’s name, sorry!) and straight up makes out with him, simply to spite Disney. You can find that blooper on DVD versions.
(Keep in mind that Zeke was actually Sharpay’s love interest throughout the trilogy, starting with the after-credits scene of the first movie.)
So yeah. Ryan was actually a homosexual character, but he was forced into a straight relationship through Disney. Thanks, Disney.