Sorry, Stelena fans! While Stefan Salvatore and Elena Gilbert appeared to be completely falling in love during the first season of The Vampire Diaries, that was definitely not the case when the cameras stopped rolling. Nina Dobrev, who portrayed Elena in the CW teen drama, opened up on the latest episode of Candice King and Kayla Ewell’s “Directionally Challenged” podcast.
“Paul and I didn’t get along at the beginning of the show. I respected Paul Wesley, I didn’t like Paul Wesley,” the actress, 30, said on the episode published on Monday, June 10. “I remember everyone would walk up to me after the show aired and they’d be like, ‘Are you and Paul dating in real life?’ Everyone thought that we had such good chemistry. I realize now that there’s a fine line between love and hate and we despised each other so much that it read as love but … We really just didn’t get along the first five months of shooting.”
Dobrev starred on The Vampire Diaries until exiting at the end of season 6; Elena later returned for the series’ final episodes in season 8. On screen, Stefan and Elena didn’t last – although some fans thought they should have ended up together. Instead, Elena and Stefan’s brother, Damon, played by Ian Somerhalder, walked into the sunset together at the end. Oddly enough, in real life, Somerhalder and the former Fam star dated from 2011 to 2013; after the split, the costars remained friends.
“Most of the time, love interests in film and TV don’t get along and that reads as really intense chemistry,” Dobrev explained, then remembered something Wesley, now 36, said to her while shooting the pilot.
“Maybe we had a moment where we actually connected, and he looked at me and he was like, ‘Ten years from now, when we’re not on this show, you’re gonna really miss me. You’re gonna miss these times; you’re look back, and this is gonna be the good old days. Well appreciate each other in 10 years,’” she revealed. “He was so f–king right. We ended up getting to a good place and it was fine. Of everyone, I think I probably see him the most and hang out with him the most. We’re probably the closest. We hang out a lot. We’re really good friends. I love his wife. It’s so funny how time changes everything because I never thought he would be one of my best friends.”
The Run This Town actress also opened up about bonding with others on set – especially those with whom she shared intimate scenes. “When you work with anyone or spending a lot of time with anyone, little things are going to annoy you about them. It’s like a relationship. We were basically married,” she revealed. “We were together every day, we were kissing and doing all this stuff but we didn’t have sex so yeah, just like a marriage.”
