Paul Wesley Confirms He & ‘Vampire Diaries’ Co-Star Nina Dobrev ‘Totally Clashed’ On Set

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After Nina Dobrev shocked ‘Vampire Diaries’ fans by exposing her former feud with Paul Wesley, her co-star admitted that they indeed ‘clashed’ on the show’s set.

They might have been The Vampire Diaries‘ favorite couple, but Paul Wesley, 37, confirmed that his relationship with Nina Dobrev, 30, on-set of the drama series was sour at first. The star co-signed Nina’s claims that they went through a rough patch in their friendship when chatting with reporters at the Television Critics Association summer press tour on August 1.  “I think the point that Nina was making, and I’ll totally back her up on this, is that we totally clashed [the] first couple years in terms of just getting on each other’s nerves, and then developed this wonderful friendship,” the actor said. “So it’s like this nice, happy ending,” he added.

The actor was sure explain that their rocky relationship blossomed into a solid friendship. “I think sometimes when people work together nonstop, do press nonstop for years and years on end, you’re just — you don’t appreciate the person that’s in front of you. You’re like, ‘Oh, you know, I’m exhausted and tired.’ And I think now, it’s such a nice sort of story because we’re such good friends now,” he said. “I think it was a cool lesson to learn.  It’s like the people that kind of maybe you don’t get along with in the beginning later surprise you, and I think a lot of my friendships are like that,” Paul told reporters. The two stars portrayed the fan-favorite vampire couple Stefan Salvatore and Elena Gilbert on the drama series from 2009 to 2017.

Paul’s revelation comes after Nina shocked fans by being the first to speak out on their feud, despite having great on-screen chemistry. When chatting with fellow co-stars Candice King and Kayla Ewell on their podcast, Directionally Challenged, the Canadian actress revealed that they initially “despised” each other for months. “Paul and I didn’t get along at the beginning of the show. I respected Paul Wesley, I didn’t like Paul Wesley,” the Dog Days star revealed on the podcast. “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?’ Everyone thought that we had such good chemistry. I realize now that there’s a fine line between love and hate and we despised each other so much that it read as love but … We really just didn’t get along the first five months of shooting.”

Apparently, those days are far behind the two actors though, because Paul was sure to say he and Nina are now “dear” friends and chat about once a week. That’s what we like to hear!