Nina Dobrev’s romantic links to Damon Salvatore started long before her character Elena Gilbert fell for the vampire.

The Vampire Diaries star recently revealed that as she was auditioning for the CW show, she was dating an actor who read for the part of Damon, which ultimately went to her now-ex Ian Somerhalder.

“There was a bunch of drama around that [audition] because I was dating Rob Mayes at the time, but they didn’t know that,” Nina, 36, shared in the book I Was Feeling Epic: An Oral History of The Vampire Diaries by Samantha Highfill, out now. “We were trying to keep it really secret because we were afraid that if they found out, they wouldn’t cast one or both of us.”

However, Nina’s vision of working alongside her off-screen love interest ultimately accidentally came true as she later dated Ian. 

“It got awkward because I did get cast but he didn’t, and then we subsequently broke up,” Nina explained. “Then, I ended up eventually, years later, dating the actual Damon.”

Indeed, the Degrassi alum and Ian, 46, dated from 2010 until 2013. Following their split, Nina continued to act alongside her ex until her departure from the series in 2015. Still, the duo managed to put on a united front in the years after their breakup.

In fact, shortly after their breakup in 2014, Ian and Nina playfully shared a kiss at the People’s Choice Awards while accepting the Best Chemistry award. 

"It's just honest," the actress—who is engaged to Shaun White—told E! News of their moment at the time. "All it was just honest. You call a spade a spade."

Indeed, years later Nina didn’t hold back when it came to talking about the status of her relationship with Ian and his wife Nikki Reed.

“What’s not weird at all,” the Reunion star said about her relationship with the couple on Watch What Happens Live in 2019. “Why can’t everyone be friends? I think that they have a beautiful baby. They are happy and so am I. What’s sad about that I don’t see any problems with that.”  

For more stars who are friendly with their exes, keep reading…

No, they are never, ever, ever getting back together. But at this point—between the birthday parties, the friendly embraces and even freaking acting out a sexual fantasy in a star-studded virtual reading of Fast Times at Ridgemont High—it feels like the former Hollywood golden couple is just taunting us. 

You know you're cool when you can pop into your ex's talk show and give him a hard time. Such was the case when Sarah turned up on Jimmy's stage to chat about her new show, I Love You, America and his "cute," "bright," "funny" wife Molly Kimmel. "It's not fair!" she cracked. "She gets, like, new woke Jimmy. I had Man Show Jimmy."

TBH, we might still be mourning this relationship harder than either of its participants. Because when Anna—now married to cinematographer Michael Barrett—heard that Pratt was set to wed Katherine Schwarzenegger in 2019, she offered to officiate. She even sent over a gift after the newlyweds welcomed daughter Lyla in August 2020. Thrilled for son Jack to become a big brother, a source told E! News at the time that Anna "is very supportive." 

It would have been super easy for the exes' relationship to become a flop. But more than four years after a messy split, the HGTV stars are still killing it at two projects: parenting kids Taylor and Brayden and turning run-down properties into someone else's dream home.

Literally "best friends" as the rocker put it in a 2013 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the parents to actress Zoe Kravitz still consider themselves kin. "We're one big happy family," Lenny said of his ex, who went on to wed Jason Momoa before their 2020 split. "It's beautiful, and it just shows you what can be done."

After the Dancing With the Stars co-host and former hockey player called in quits in 2020, the pair have continually proved they are on good terms.

When Brooks' announced his engagement to Katrín Tanja Davíðsdóttir in December 2024, Julianne celebrated the news, writing on Instagram, "I'm so happy for you both as you step into this beautiful new chapter together. Wishing you both a lifetime of love, laughter, and endless adventures."

Months later, the dancer and her ex-husband, alongside his pregnant now-fiancée, spent the day together on the lake, posting a pic herself with them with the caption, "Special day on the lake with these three cuties.”

Since their 2015 breakup, the parents to Violet, Seraphina and Samuel have hit the conscious uncoupling trifecta: Joint vacations, shared holidays and public displays of admiration with Ben dubbing his ex "an amazing mother" during a 2016 interview with E! News. 

Nina and Ian may have called it quits in 2013 after three years of dating, but they've remained close friends since then. In 2014, the Vampire Diaries star started dating Nikki Reed and tied the knot later that year. Naturally, Dobrev befriended the Twilight actress.

The two called it quits in July 2016 after five years together. The singer said on SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show the following October that she's "very close" to Kinney, adding, "He's been my lover and a friend for so long."

"We love each other," she said. "That's it."

The Office's on-and-off pairing remained so tantalizingly close after the series wrapped in 2013 that even Mindy gets why people are still shipping them. "If I was on the outside looking at it, I would think the same thing," she told Good Housekeepingin 2019 of naming him godparent to her kids. "But the truth is that B.J. is so much more like family now than a platonic friend."

The exes had no trouble coparenting their son, Bronx, after finalizing their divorce back in 2011. The Fall Out Boy singer has even said his former wife is "an awesome mom."

So she's over those "7 Things" then? The JoBro musician has said he's "really friendly" with his ex. "We've got a good relationship."

The Dexter stars first met on set in 2006 before things got romantic in 2008. And although they divorced in 2011, Jennifer assured there was "nothing but love and respect" between the exes a few years later. 

Long the gold standard of copacetic exes, the parents to daughters Rumer, Tallulah and Scout remain so tight that the decision to ride out coronavirus stay-at-home orders together in Idaho was a no-brainer. Quarantine dance party anyone?

Some four years after their 2014 divorce, Lopez was still giving her former spouse, dad to her twins Max and Emme, props. "While I was married to Marc, he really helped me with my confidence and he saw where I suffered," she said on a 2018 episode of Sunday Today. "He was like, 'You're a great singer. Don't ever let anybody tell you you're not a great singer.' And I respected him so much 'cause I consider him one of the best singers of all time."

Even if it hasn't been his day, his week, his month or even his year, the actress will be there for her former husband and Scream costar. "I mean, as divorces go, I would say it's one of the better ones. For sure," she shared on Running Wild With Bear Grylls eight years after their 2010 split. Raising daughter Coco, she continued, "We're good co-parents together."

Their real life romance may have fizzled in 2007. However, that doesn't mean the two couldn't heat up the screen in the 2011 movie Bad Teacher.

Sure, the initial few months of their 2013 split were rough going, but the actors have now reached the group vacation stage of their divorce. "I really like her husband and I think he's a great guy," the Twilight alum told LaPalme Magazine of a 2017 trip to Cancun that included Garth, Dave Abrams, Peter's now-fiancée Lily Anne Harrison and their three daughters Luca, Lola and Fiona. As for his relationship with Jennie, he continued, "People come into your life for a reason and relationships can change," he told LaPalme. "Just because we aren't living together doesn't mean you can't love each other."

Despite a surprise separation in September 2012, the couple decided to put on a united front for their children. "As you know, Will and I are very, very good friends," she explained during a 2014 interview with Howard Stern. "We are doing a really good job. I don't think a 10-year marriage constitutes a failure. I think relationships are really tough."

The Grammy winner and her ex-husband—who finalized their divorce in January 2024—have remained on good terms as they continue to parent their son Hayes. In fact, the songwriters live just five minutes apart from one another, which makes co-parenting a breeze.

“Our stops are really easy,” Maren told The Zoe Report in May 2025, “and we’ll have family dinners.”

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