Nina Dobrev gave her followers something to smile about on April 23, when she shared a cute throwback image of herself from kindergarten that her rumored BF, Shaun White, found just as adorable as everyone else. “I know right now times are tough,” The Vampire Diaries alum, 31, began the caption to her post. “I read somewhere that smiling releases ‘neuropeptides,'” she continued. “They are feel good neurotransmitters – dopamine, endorphins and serotonin – that are released throughout your body, making you immediately feel better. So today, let’s all smile. Don’t worry if you have to fake it…I did in kindergarten and my mom still framed it,” she concluded the caption to her throwback post, adding the hashtag “TBT.”
Fans adored the pic, and Nina’s sweet message, including Shaun! The former Olympian, 33, left a flirty comment featuring just two emojis. One was a monkey covering their eyes and the other was a red heart! The endearing comment comes just weeks after Shaun and Nina were first spotted riding their bikes in Malibu, leading fans to believe the two may be an item. Speculation grew further when, on April 6, Shaun was spotted leaving Nina’s house!
So what’s really going on between the presumed lovebirds? “Shaun and Nina are not putting any labels on their relationship but if you ask friends they are for sure dating,” a source shared EXCLUSIVELY with HollywoodLife. “Nina has lived the life where her relationships have been looked over with a microscope and she wants to let what happens happen,” the source went on. Nina thinks that Shaun is “pretty funny” and she “really loves that he’s an athlete,” the source continued. Shaun, meanwhile, “really enjoys her joy of life.”
The two have “hung in the same circle of friends for years,” a second source shares EXCLUSIVELY with HL, “and have always been pretty close.” It seems, though, that their relationship has taken a turn. “it’s more on a flirtatious level because they’re both single at the same time and, of course, there’s an attraction there.” If fans are looking for any confirmation of the rumored romance, an insider affirmed that “they’re not official, but the potential is definitely there. It’s too soon to tell but their friends wouldn’t be surprised if that’s where things go in the near future.”