Which The Vampire Diaries cast members dated in real life? The best-known couple was Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder, who played Elena Gilbert and Damon Salvatore and dated from 2010 to 2013. Other reported relationships include Paul Wesley with Torrey DeVitto and Phoebe Tonkin, and Joseph Morgan with Persia White, who married in 2014. This guide focuses first on people who appeared on the original series; broader franchise relationships are identified separately.
Which The Vampire Diaries cast members dated in real life?
Entertainment coverage describes several real-life relationships among people connected to the show. The strength of the reporting varies: some couples are reported as having dated or married, while others were described more cautiously as “linked” or spotted together.
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| People | Reported relationship | Connection to the show |
|---|---|---|
| Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder | Dated from 2010 to 2013, according to Us Weekly; CBS News also covered their split in 2013. | Dobrev played Elena Gilbert; Somerhalder played Damon Salvatore. |
| Paul Wesley and Torrey DeVitto | Married in 2011; their divorce was finalized in 2013, according to Us Weekly. | Wesley played Stefan Salvatore; DeVitto appeared as Dr. Meredith Fell in 2012–13. |
| Paul Wesley and Phoebe Tonkin | Us Weekly reports an on-and-off relationship of about four years that ended in late 2017; TV Insider also reports their final split in October 2017. | Wesley played Stefan; Tonkin played Hayley in the franchise. |
| Joseph Morgan and Persia White | They met during season three, began dating shortly afterward, and married in 2014, according to Us Weekly and TV Insider. | Morgan played Klaus Mikaelson; White appeared as Abby Bennett Wilson. |
| Candice King and Steven R. McQueen | Us Weekly reports King was spotted kissing McQueen in 2010; this is a reported link, not evidence of a long-term relationship. | King played Caroline Forbes; McQueen played Jeremy Gilbert. |
| Candice King and Zach Roerig | Us Weekly says they were linked from 2011 to 2012. | King played Caroline; Roerig played Matt Donovan. |
The relationship dates above come from entertainment reporting, not a statistical study. The cited coverage does not establish that on-screen romances caused or predicted off-screen relationships.
What is known about Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder?
Dobrev and Somerhalder were a real-life couple while playing Elena and Damon. Us Weekly places their relationship from 2010 to 2013 and describes it as lasting three years. CBS News reported their split on May 9, 2013, providing contemporaneous coverage. Us Weekly says they continued working together for two further seasons after the breakup.
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Dobrev said in 2012, in a comment reproduced by TV Insider, “I didn’t want to be dating one of my costars — my goal on the show was to be professional.” The fact that their characters were romantically involved should not be taken as proof about their private relationship; the dates above are based on reporting about the actors themselves.
Paul Wesley’s two reported relationships with cast members
Torrey DeVitto
Wesley and DeVitto met while working on another project, according to Us Weekly. They married in 2011, and their divorce was finalized in 2013. DeVitto later appeared on The Vampire Diaries as Dr. Meredith Fell in 2012–13.
Phoebe Tonkin
After his split from DeVitto, Wesley and Tonkin reportedly had an on-and-off relationship for about four years. Us Weekly says it ended in late 2017; TV Insider reports their final split in October of that year. Tonkin played Hayley in the wider franchise.
Which reported pairings need more qualification?
Not every name linked in entertainment coverage has the same level of confirmation. Us Weekly says King was spotted kissing McQueen in 2010 and that King was linked to Roerig from 2011 to 2012. Those descriptions support reporting that the pairings were publicized, but they do not establish a long-term relationship or a detailed timeline. Their characters, Caroline and Matt, also dated on screen.
Did Joseph Morgan and Persia White marry?
Yes. Us Weekly and TV Insider report that Morgan and White met during the show’s third season, began dating shortly afterward, and married in 2014. White told Fox 5 Atlanta in 2023, as reproduced by TV Insider, “We’re really always trying to stay together.”
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Who dated in the wider The Vampire Diaries universe?
“Cast” can mean only performers who appeared on the original series, or the broader franchise that includes The Originals, crew members, and relationships that began after the original show. Us Weekly’s September 2025 roundup uses the broader scope. It reports that Kat Graham and cinematographer Darren Genet began dating in 2017, became engaged in 2022, and separated in 2023.
The same roundup describes later franchise relationships, including Candice King and Steven Krueger, whom it says became engaged in 2025, and Zach Roerig and Arielle Kebbel, whose relationship was reported in 2025. TV Insider reported in February 2026 that Kebbel said she had been single for some time and that the breakup was difficult; it did not establish the precise date of their split. These examples involve the wider TVD universe and should not be confused with relationships between original-series costars.
How reliable are the relationship reports?
Wording matters. A publication’s statement that two people “dated” or “married” is firmer than a report that they were “linked” or seen together. A first-person comment can establish what the speaker said, but it does not independently confirm every detail of a relationship. For that reason, the King pairings above remain qualified, while the reported marriages and dated timelines are stated more directly.
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Coverage of Dobrev, Somerhalder, and Nikki Reed has also been framed at times as a feud or love triangle. In 2017, TIME reported that Dobrev, Somerhalder, and Reed publicly pushed back against those stories. Reed said: “I now see that silence was taken as an opportunity to fill in the blanks with even more falsities, and juicer stories, and we, yes WE, believe we have a moral responsibility to young girls to end that narrative, because at the end of all of this, those young girls are the ones who lose.” That is Reed’s response to the framing, not an independent measurement of how widely the rumors circulated.
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