Real-Life Love
‘The Vampire Diaries’ Real-Life Couples Who Found Love Within the Franchise
Teen dramas like The Vampire Diaries are rife with romance, so it only makes sense that they would inspire off-screen relationships. As Riverdale star KJ Apa put it, “It’s just part of the deal.”
While some love stories have lasted beyond the CW show’s seven-season run, others fizzled out while it was still filming between 2009 and 2017. Some relationships didn’t blossom while the show was still on the air, but they did because of TVD. All roads lead back to Mystic Falls.
Some stars wound up getting engaged, like Candice King and The Originals star Steven Krueger, while others only dated briefly, like Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder.
The latter is the most famous costar entanglement in The Vampire Diaries’ history, since their characters Elena and Damon (aka Delena) turned out to be one of the show’s endgame couples, but who else found love because of The Vampire Diaries universe? Scroll down to find out!
Joseph Morgan & Persia White
Yep, Klaus Mikaelson and Bonnie Bennett’s mom are a real-life couple! They met while shooting Season 3 of the series, which led to them tying the knot in 2014. Morgan also adopted White’s daughter, Mecca. They’ve worked on a few projects together since their TVD days.
“We’re really always trying to stay together,” White told Fox 5 Atlanta in 2023. “I think our industry pulls us apart because of all the travel. We manage to do what we want to do and stay together. We’re really dedicated to the relationship. That’s our big secret.”
Nina Dobrev & Ian Somerhalder
Ah, the most talked about TVD relationship of all. Dobrev and Somerhalder had a ton of chemistry onscreen before they started dating in 2010, when Season 2 filming was underway.
“I didn’t want to be dating one of my costars — my goal on the show was to be professional,” Dobrev told Seventeen in 2012. “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.”
They ultimately broke up in 2013, which they would joke about at the People’s Choice Awards the following year.
“I’ve said this before, that we didn’t break up because anything bad happened or because there wasn’t love or friendship,” the actress told E! News. “I love him and the friendship is still strong and I think he’s great and I care about him. And that didn’t change. Yes, we’re professional and that’s fine. We were friends long before we dated and we still are now.”
Somerhalder has since married Twilight’s Nikki Reed, and they have two children. Dobrev recently ended her engagement to Olympian Shaun White.
Steven Krueger & Candice King
Soon, TVD will have produced another marriage. King, who played Caroline Forbes, is engaged to Krueger. He appeared as Josh Rosza in TVD spinoff The Originals. They met while filming the latter show’s fifth and final season.
They confirmed their romance in 2023 before announcing that Krueger popped the question in May 2025. “The privilege of getting older is much sweeter knowing I get to share it with you Steven. Thank you for asking me to dance through life with you,” King wrote on Instagram.
Years before King said “yes” to Krueger, she was linked to a few other costars: Steven R. McQueen (who played Jeremy Gilbert) and Zach Roerig (aka Matt Donovan). She was previously married to The Fray’s Joe King, with whom she shares two children.
Danielle Campbell & Colin Woodell
Technically, this one is also an Originals couple rather than a TVD one, but we’re counting it! Danielle Campbell played the witch Davina Claire, while Colin Woodell played the werewolf Aiden, who eventually dated Krueger’s Josh. However, Campbell and Woodell were endgame in real life.
After dating for about five years, the couple revealed their engagement in 2023. The actors haven’t posted wedding photos yet, though fans suspect they may have already said “I do.”
Paul Wesley & Phoebe Tonkin
The Stefan Salvatore and Hayley Marshall actors were together on and off for about four years. In April 2017, they broke up briefly and moved out of their shared home, according Us Weekly, but they got back together a month later. They split for good that October.
“He’s my best friend,” Tonkin said about her boyfriend in 2015. “It’s such a fun time in my life right now. It’s nice to have someone to share all that with.”
Wesley had another romance with a member of the TVD universe, though they knew each other before starring in the CW drama. He met Torrey DeVitto on the set of a horror movie in 2008, and they were married from 2011 to 2013. She went on to play Dr. Meredith Fell in Seasons 3 and 4 of TVD.
“I was [on it], but I only did like six episodes. And then once we were splitting up I was like, ‘Pfft, not going back there,'” she said on Rachel Bilson‘s Broad Ideas podcast. “I’m not that kind of person that’s like, ‘Well, this is business, I can stay.’ It’s like, no. I don’t want to come back. I’m good, thank you.”
Kat Graham & Darren Genet
Technically, this former couple didn’t cross paths onscreen: Darren Genet was behind the camera. As a cinematographer, he worked on TVD and The Originals, but he first met the Bonnie Bennett actress on another set, according to People. They began their relationship in 2017, got engaged in 2022, and called it off a year later.
Zach Roerig & Nathalie Kelley
After meeting on set in 2016, the Matt Donovan actor started dating the actress who played Sybil in Seasons 7 and 8.“We never really had any scenes together,” Nathalie Kelley told Us Weekly in 2017. “It was actually good. Sometimes I think that crossover gets very intense.” Their relationship ended after about a year.
Zach Roerig & Arielle Kebbel
The newest Vampire Diaries couple! Roerig and Arielle Kebbel, who played fan-favorite Lexi, were only briefly onscreen together during TVD’s run. They reconnected on the set of the Hallmark movie Great Smoky Mountains: A National Park Romance in 2023. They confirmed their relationship at a Georgia fan convention in April 2025.
