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- Paul Wesley and Nina Dobrev met through their roles as Stefan and Elena on "The Vampire Diaries."
- Dobrev said that they actually "despised each other" at the start of the series.
- The actress said that nowadays, Wesley is the "TVD" costar she's closest to.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley have come a long way since they met during the audition process for "The Vampire Diaries."
The supernatural show, based on a book series by L. J. Smith, premiered on The CW in September 2009. It became an instant hit for the network, concluding after eight seasons in March 2017.
Even though it's been years since the series ended, Dobrev and Wesley remain close friends.
Here's a complete timeline of their friendship.
Dobrev and Wesley met during a chemistry read for 'TVD'
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
The early seasons of the series centered on a love triangle involving Elena Gilbert (Dobrev), Stefan Salvatore (Wesley), and Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder). Wesley was the last of the three stars to be cast, after an extensive search for the right actor to play the brooding vampire.
"I showed up to the test and I'm not exaggerating, there were literally 15 guys there from everywhere from Australia to England to New York City," Wesley recalled during an interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2019.
Wesley stood out because he didn't give Dobrev the time of day.
"I remember that Paul was the only one who didn't speak to me unless we were speaking on camera," the actress told EW. "Everyone else was trying to schmooze with me and flirt with me because it's a chemistry read, and that was my first-ever chemistry read so I thought that's what it was supposed to be as well."
She continued, "I was trying to get a vibe: who did I have the most sexual tension with? And because Paul didn't speak to me, we had the least sexual tension."
For his part, Wesley said that he didn't acknowledge the "Degrassi" alum - even refusing to make eye contact with her. They were reading the scene from "TVD" when Stefan and Elena met for the first time, and Wesley figured that the most natural way to emulate that would be if he didn't interact with Dobrev until they began the audition.
Dobrev 'couldn't imagine anyone else' playing Stefan
The CW
"TVD" co-creator Kevin Williamson told EW that he and the people in charge of casting weren't interested in Wesley until he was paired up with Dobrev.
"We ultimately had the best chemistry," Dobrev said. "It's the kind of thing where you can see it on screen and you get an energy from the room that I maybe didn't have a barometer on, but he was absolutely the right choice and the best person for the role."
"I couldn't imagine anyone else being Stefan and I'm so grateful that they chose him because now he's one of my closest friends and we have a friendship that will last forever - vampire pun intended," she added.
September 10, 2009: 'TVD' premiered on The CW
The CW
The show came during the peak of the vampire craze rebirth, with movies and shows like "Twilight" and "True Blood" garnering global audiences.
The pilot drew 4.9 million viewers, setting a record for the largest series premiere debut since The CW was founded in 2006.
Dobrev and Wesley's characters began as love interests - abbreviated to Stelena.
But as the season progressed, Elena developed stronger feelings for Damon, the older of the Salvatore brothers.
She and Damon (known as Delena) shared several romantic moments, then she definitively picked him at the end of season four. Dobrev and Somerhalder reportedly dated from 2010 to 2013. They continued to play love interests on "TVD" after their relationship ended.
Meanwhile, Stefan ended up with Caroline Forbes (Candice King).
Unbeknownst to fans, Dobrev and Wesley 'despised each other' at the start of the show
The CW
Dobrev stunned fans in June 2019, when she appeared on "TVD" costars Candice King and Kayla Ewell's podcast called "Directionally Challenged" and revealed that she and Wesley "didn't get along at the beginning of the show."
"I respected Paul Wesley, I didn't like Paul Wesley," the "Flatliners" star said.
Dobrev continued: "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 for maybe the first five months of shooting."
Wesley echoed her comments while speaking to reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour in August of that year, per Us Weekly.
"We totally clashed [the] first couple years in terms of just getting on each other's nerves, and then developed this wonderful friendship," he said.
Similarly, Dobrev told King and Ewell that they "ended up getting to a good place and it was fine."
"Of everyone, I think I probably see him the most and hang out with him the most," she said. "We're probably the closest."
"It's so funny how time changes everything because I never thought he would be one of my best friends," Dobrev said of Wesley, adding that she's also fond of his wife named Ines de Ramon.
July 23, 2013: Dobrev posted a collage in celebration of Wesley's 31st birthday
The actress shared three photos: One showing Wesley's cut birthday cake, another of him holding treat, and a selfie of him and Dobrev.
July 28, 2013: Wesley shared a selfie of him with Dobrev and Somerhalder, who he calls 'Smoldeypants'
In addition to being good friends with Dobrev, Wesley also remains close with the star who played his on-screen brother.
July 23, 2014: Dobrev posted a tribute to Wesley on his birthday
The photo showed Wesley striking a silly pose with their "TVD" costar Penelope Mitchell, who played Liv Parker.
July 26, 2014: Dobrev, Wesley, and their 'TVD' costars appeared at San Diego Comic-Con
The actors attended SDCC, arguably the most popular convention, for several years as "TVD" aired on The CW.
April 13, 2015: Dobrev posted a photo with Wesley commemorating her last Stelena scene with him
In early April of that year, the actress shared a lengthy post announcing that she was leaving "TVD."
"I always knew I wanted Elena's story to be a six-season adventure, and within those six years I got the journey of a lifetime," she said.
A few days after the shocking announcement, Dobrev posted a Polaroid with Wesley on Instagram and Twitter.
"Just finished filming my last Stefan and Elena scene with the amazing @paulvedere /@paulwesley
Crazy. 😐😍😢 So many emotions. I'm lost for words. #Stelena #TVDFamily #PolaroidSeries," she wrote.
Wesley responded to Dobrev's tweet with the broken heart emoji.
-Paul Wesley (@paulwesley) April 14, 2015
May 14, 2015: Ahead of the release of her final episode of 'TVD,' Dobrev posted throwback photos with Wesley and her costars
February 7, 2017: Dobrev posted a photo with Wesley, seemingly marking 8 years of knowing each other
"8 years. @paulvedere," she captioned the selfie.
In response, Wesley commented with the red heart emoji.
March 10, 2017: The series finale of 'TVD' aired, featuring the return of Dobrev as Elena
Leading up to the release of the episode, the stars shared old photos on social media.
Wesley posted a photo from early in his "TVD" journey with the caption: "Me and Dobreva- London circa 2010."
Dobrev posted several photos with Wesley and her other costars, writing: "My undead brothers... I thought vampires weren't supposed to age. Lol. We definitely don't look the same after 8 years, but the make up helped. Raising a glass to celebrate 8 wonderful seasons together, it has been such a beautiful (and liver damaging) adventure knowing you all. Cheers family."
Viewers were also thrilled that Dobrev reprised her life-changing role for the finale.
December 10, 2017: Months after 'TVD' ended, they had a 'serendipitous' run-in while in NYC
"NYC when it's snowing is full of serendipitous run ins and magical reunions. Like this one. #TVDForever #NYCNOW," Dobrev captioned a photo of her and Wesley.
In response, Wesley tweeted: "Long overdue (posthumous) reunion"
-Paul Wesley (@paulwesley) December 11, 2017
May 17, 2018: They reunited again in NY
"Excuse me sir, you look familiar. I feel like we've met before. Maybe in a past life?" Dobrev captioned a black-and-white photo of the two stars hanging out in NY.
September 2018: Wesley surprised Dobrev with a visit to the set of her sitcom titled 'Fam'
Dobrev posted a video of the moment on her Instagram story (which E! News reposted below) with the caption: "When your Fam comes to see you at FAM," she captioned the video. "#WorldsColliding."
The video showed Dobrev alongside her "Fam" costars doing a curtain call. When she posted Wesley standing in the front section of the audience, she screamed and ran over to him.
"What are you doing here?" Dobrev asked as they hugged. Then she ran back to the stage to rejoin her castmates.
-E! News (@enews) September 16, 2018
Months later, Dobrev told E! News that Wesley happened to be nearby on that day because he was meeting with Aaron Kaplan, an executive producer on "Fam" and Wesley's show "Tell Me a Story."
"He stayed and watched and it was a great little reunion," she said.
November 30, 2018: Dobrev posted a throwback with Wesley from her 21st birthday
"#FBF Vegas. My 21st bday. Blue steel. Weird hat. Paul's famous hair... undone. You're welcome," she captioned the photo.
August 1, 2019: Wesley opened up about how his friendship evolved over the years
The actor told Entertainment Tonight that Dobrev's comments about them "despising" each other were "absolutely true."
"The fans would never have known that," Wesley said. "We're basically driving each other insane and then after a few seasons, we developed this absolute mutual love. I actually think my best friendships always come from this evolution. And so now, I just adore her, she adores me and I talk to her more than most of the other cast members."
He also said that fans were probably shocked because their on-screen relationship "was the pillar of the love story, I suppose, in the first few seasons and people were like, 'What do you mean they didn't get along?'"
October 15, 2019: Dobrev and Wesley teamed up for a video that poked fun at their rocky history
"I 'despise' you ♥️😂😘," Dobrev captioned a post on Instagram.
In the video, the two stars met up near a pool and talked about the headlines regarding their former feud.
"It was so stupid," Dobrev told Wesley. "You know how much I love you. That's what I was trying to get across, but obviously they took one sentence out of context."
He agreed that it was "blown out of proportion" and said that he doesn't hold grudges.
"I love you. Thank you, I appreciate it," Dobrev said, leaning in for a hug.
Instead, Wesley pushed her into the nearby pool and walked away.
Showing that there was no bad blood between them, Wesley commented on Dobrev's post: "Hahahaha YES!!! ❤️ you Dobreva."
January 5, 2020: They reunited at a Golden Globes after-party
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for InStyle
The party, hosted by InStyle and Warner Bros., took place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in California. Somerhalder was also in attendance.
September 7, 2020: Dobrev and Wesley met up for a 'puppy playdate' with their pets
"hard to teach a buncha old dawgs new tricks #puppyplaydate," Dobrev captioned a photo of herself and her dog named Maverick with Wesley, his wife, and the couple's pup named Gregory.
The actress posted additional photos and videos on her Instagram story.
Nina Dobrev/Instagram
October 9, 2020: Dobrev posted a 'blast from the past' with Wesley and Somerhalder
It's unclear when the throwback photo was taken, but it appeared to be from the set of "TVD."
November 15, 2020: The stars jokingly said that Justin Bieber is their 'love child'
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
The comments came after E! News posted throwback photos on social media of Wesley and Bieber, who shared a striking resemblance when they were kids.
"He's my son," Wesley said of the Canadian singer.
In response, Dobrev said, "our love child."
Continuing the ruse, Wesley tagged his "TVD" costar and wrote: "#proudparents #wemissyouson #callusback."
February 7, 2021: Dobrev, Wesley, and their partners went on a ski trip together
The "TVD" stars shared plenty of photos and videos from the slopes, accompanied by de Ramon and Shaun White, the professional snowboarder who's been linked to Dobrev since early 2020. They've since made their relationship Instagram official.