Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder met while starring on The Vampire Diaries, were publicly linked by 2010, and went public as a couple in 2011. They broke up in 2013 but continued working together and later joked about their real-life split. Dobrev said in 2019 that she saw no problem with being friends with Somerhalder and his wife, Nikki Reed. Public reporting does not establish why the couple split or what their private relationship is today.
How Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder met
Dobrev played Elena Gilbert and Somerhalder played Damon Salvatore on The Vampire Diaries, which premiered in 2009. Us Weekly’s retrospective says the actors met through the show that year. Their characters’ story is separate from the actors’ private relationship; the fictional romance is not evidence of what happened off screen. Us Weekly’s relationship timeline
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When they started dating and went public
The available accounts distinguish between being publicly linked and going public as a couple. Us Weekly says Dobrev and Somerhalder were first linked after they were spotted kissing at Los Angeles International Airport in March 2010. That reported sighting does not establish the exact date their relationship began. CBS reported that they went public in 2011. CBS’s 2013 report
Dobrev said in a Seventeen interview quoted by CBS that she had initially wanted to keep work professional: “I didn’t want to be dating one of my costars — my goal on the show was to be professional. But sometimes you can’t help who you have a connection with, and you can only fight it for so long — which I did for a really, really long time.”
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When they broke up—and what is known about why
Their split was reported in May 2013, after several years together. The reporting reviewed here does not establish a private reason for the breakup, so claims assigning a definitive cause go beyond what these sources verify.
CBS quoted an unnamed Us Weekly source at the time as saying the pair would continue working together and remain best friends. That was an anonymous source’s description, not a direct statement from either actor.
How they handled working together after the split
Dobrev and Somerhalder continued on The Vampire Diaries after their relationship ended. At the 2014 People’s Choice Awards, while accepting an award for on-screen chemistry, they made light of the contrast between the show and their lives outside it. Dobrev said: “And then we started dating on the show. Then we broke up in real life. … It’s a good thing it’s not awkward. Well, it’s a good thing we have chemistry!” Us Weekly reproduced the exchange. Us Weekly’s account of the awards exchange
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What Dobrev said about Somerhalder and Nikki Reed
In 2017, Dobrev, Somerhalder, and Reed publicly pushed back against feud rumors after sharing dinner. Somerhalder said it was the first time Reed and Dobrev had actually met for dinner, “after years of websites pretending these two badass ladies knew each other well.” Reed called the rumors baseless and wrote that silence had been used to fill gaps with “even more falsities, and juicer stories.” Time reported their remarks. Time’s report on their response to feud rumors
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchIn January 2019, Dobrev was asked on Watch What Happens Live whether friendship with Somerhalder and Reed was weird. CBS Philadelphia recapped her answer: “I don’t think that’s weird at all. I think that’s great. I think, ‘Why can’t everyone be friends?’ I think that they have a beautiful baby and they are happy and so am I and what’s bad about that? I don’t see any problem with that.” Her comments document her public view at that time; they do not confirm the pair’s present private relationship. CBS Philadelphia’s recap of Dobrev’s 2019 comments
Are Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder still friends?
Dobrev said in 2019 that she saw no problem with being friends with Somerhalder and Reed. The public comments cited here do not establish whether Dobrev and Somerhalder are currently close, how often they are in contact, or what their private relationship is like now.
Quick Recap
Relationship timeline
| Year | What the public record says |
|---|---|
| 2009 | Dobrev and Somerhalder met through The Vampire Diaries, according to Us Weekly’s retrospective. |
| 2010 | Us Weekly says they were first linked after a reported public sighting at Los Angeles International Airport in March; this is not a confirmed start date. |
| 2011 | CBS reported that they went public as a couple. |
| May 2013 | Their breakup was reported after several years together; the reviewed reporting does not establish a private cause. |
| 2014 | They joked about having dated and broken up in real life while accepting an on-screen chemistry award. |
| 2017 | Dobrev, Somerhalder, and Reed publicly addressed feud rumors after sharing dinner. |
| January 2019 | Dobrev said she saw no problem with being friends with Somerhalder and Reed. |
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