Why Vampire Diaries' Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley "Despised" Each Other

Actress spills behind-the-scenes secrets from the beloved series

By Jess Cohen Jun 10, 2019 6:07 PMTags
Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, The Vampire DiariesThe CW

Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley are pretty amazing actors...because they did NOT get along on the set of The Vampire Diaries!

The duo, who starred as Elena Gilbert and Stefan Salvatore on the beloved CW series, actually "despised" each other in the early days of the show. While the pair played loved interests on-screen for many seasons, shout-out to the #Stelena shippers, things were definitely not the same off-screen.

"Paul and I didn't get along at the beginning of the show," Dobrev shares on the latest episode of the Directionally Challenged podcast, hosted by Vampire Diaries stars Candice King and Kayla Ewell. "I respected Paul Wesley, I didn't like Paul Wesley."

"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?'" Dobrev recalls. "Because everyone thought that we had such good chemistry."

Dobrev says that she realizes now that there's "a fine line between love and hate."

"And we despised each other so much, that it read as love," Dobrev laughs. "We really just didn't get along the first maybe five months of shooting."

Though they didn't get along in the beginning, Dobrev says they "ended up getting to a good place." Now, Dobrev and Wesley "hang out a lot" and are "really good friends."

The duo often posts photos together during their reunions on social media, delighting their fans.

Last May, Dobrev shared a picture with Wesley on Instagram, writing, "Excuse me sir, you look familiar. I feel like we've met before. Maybe in a past life?"

Dobrev notes in the podcast that it's "funny" how time changes everything, because she "never thought that he would be one of my best friends."

Explaining further why they didn't get along on the set, Dobrev shares, "When you work with anyone, or are spending a lot of time with anyone, little things are gonna annoy you about them. It's like a relationship, we were basically married without...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!"

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