Our favorite TV best friends are finally reuniting on-screen, but their real-life friendship has been strong for years following the end of Wizards of Waverly Place.
Jennifer Stone, who played Harper Finkle in the Disney Channel series that premiered in 2007, is returning in the four-part finale of the show’s spinoff Wizards Beyond Waverly Place. The show follows the children of siblings Alex and Justin Russo, played by Selena Gomez and David Henrie, as they develop their magical abilities inherited from their parents. Harper is Alex’s mortal best friend who sticks by her side through thick and thin, especially when Alex’s rebellious nature got the best of her.
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Stone and Gomez’s friendship still holds strong almost 20 years after the show’s premiere. Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco got married in September 2025 as shared via her Instagram. Many of her celebrity friends, including Taylor Swift, Steve Martin, and Martin Short were, of course, in attendance. But fans were extra excited when Selena posted a photo of herself and Stone on her wedding day. David DeLuise, who played her character’s father Jerry Russo in Wizards, also attended the ceremony.
Parade got the chance to chat with Stone about her long-lasting friendship with Selena ahead of her character’s return in the final season of the continuation series, and what it meant to her to watch Gomez get married. She responded immediately, saying, “I was a mess.”
Stone continued, “We grew up together. I mean, she was my high school best friend, and it was something that she had talked about wanting since we were teenagers. She’s such a special human being, and she deserves someone so special that sees her and honors her and takes care of each other, and they take care of each other. The moment she walked down the aisle: waterworks, waterworks. I was a mess, a total mess. And I just could not be happier for her. I think Benny’s incredible and I could not have dreamed up a better partnership for each other. And that’s my favorite part, is the fact that they’re just good for each other.”
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The two friends recently posted that they attended the West End Production of Romeo & Juliet starring Sadie Sink in June 2026 via Instagram stories.
Since the original show ended, Stone became an E.R. nurse in December 2019, just months before the COVID-19 pandemic began. She joked, “My timing is impeccable.” She also explained that “acting was never off the table” for her. Stone shared that she grew up with Type 1 Diabetes and spent a lot of time with nurses as a patient and “went back to do nursing because I felt like I could really make a difference.”
Stone also opened up about how nursing helped her become a better actor, saying, “It was definitely a beautiful, unexpected challenge, but also a gift because it’s changed the way I view the world and people, and it’s given me great perspective, and it’s made me a better actor.”
Fans will get to see Stone as Harper Finkle once again in the finale event of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, premiering Aug. 4, 2026, on Disney Channel and streaming the next day on Disney+.
Related: Nearly a Decade After Growing Apart, Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato Reunite
