Now that they've called it quits off-camera, shooting season five of The Vampire Diaries is bound to be at least a little awkward for Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder — but there's no bad blood, a source close to the couple assures Us Weekly, which broke news of the breakup on Thursday, May 9. "There was no mean spiritedness behind of either of their motives" for ending their three-year relationship, the source explains.
CW stars Dobrev, 24, and Somerhalder, 34, went public with their romance back in 2011 and "will continue to work together and remain best friends," a second source previously told Us.
The split, in some ways, was bound to happen. "The relationship kind of brewed out of a friendship and the fact that they had to get into a romance for the show," the first insider explains, adding that the breakup "was inevitable."
The ten-year age gap may have also played a role, the same source says. "I think she decided she wanted to experience other things."
Neither has publicly commented on the split, although Somerhalder may have been hinting at the end of the romance via Twitter — quoting playwright Lillian Hellman on Thursday: "A thought for today: 'People change and forget to tell each other,'" Somerhalder shared with his 3.6 million followers.
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