How Shaun White Found a Winning Partner in New Fiancée Nina Dobrev

How Nina Dobrev's BF Shaun White Helped Her Prep for New Movie

Spend enough time dating in Hollywood, and you'll come up with a plan for how to deal when a relationship goes sideways. 

And though Nina Dobrev is now happily engaged to Olympian Shaun White, her partner for the better part of the last five years, her go-to split strategy used to involve her passport.

The Bulgaria-born, Canada-bred actress has "been kind of all over," she shared in a 2018 interview with Cosmopolitan. "I don't often splurge on material things; I splurge on flights and travel. I've been to Thailand, Japan, Australia, Brussels, Switzerland. [I like] discovering new cultures, meeting new people, getting away from my normal schedule." 

As in, having no schedule at all, which is what she does when she's off-the-clock. "I'm one of those people who works hard and plays hard—I go 130 percent in either direction," she continued, noting that wanderlust hits even harder when she's recovering from the end of a romance.

Asked to share her tried-and-true breakup strategy, she told the mag, "A plane ticket, a glass of tequila and a group of girlfriends."

Though having a promising new romantic prospect tag along works as well. 

At first glance, The Vampire Diaries alum, 35, and the three-time Olympic gold medalist, 38, may not have seemed like obvious travel buddies—much less a winning match. And yet, nearly five years into their coupling, Dobrev's pals are enthusiastically rooting them on.  

The actress having dated TVD costar Ian Somerhalder for three years, followed by relationships with actors Austin Stowell, Glen Powell and then filmmaker Mellon, "Shaun is a departure from previous guys Nina has been with," a source told E! News in March 2020. "Her friends are pleasantly surprised."

Dobrev checks off White's boxes as well. 

During his Olympic run in 2018, the athlete described to People what kept his relationship with then-girlfriend Phantogram rocker Sarah Barthel, gliding along. "We live in two different worlds, so that's why it's nice to come together and share stories from the road," he explained. And though Dobrev is an avid snowboarder herself, safe to say she won't be critiquing White's Double McTwist 1260. 

White also said he appreciates someone who not only gets his peripatetic lifestyle, but lives it themselves: "It's nice to not have somebody like, 'When are you coming home?'" he noted. "They get it, they understand being on the road."

And he just might have found that forgiving, adventurous partner in Dobrev.  Because, as it turns out, their list of commonalities extends far beyond equally demanding careers and a stamp-filled passport. "Nina and Shaun share a lot of similarities," the insider tells E! News, "they are both very positive, and social and enjoy spending time outdoors and staying active."

And while Dobrev can't exactly lay claim to three Olympic gold medals, she does know how to shred. 

"I actually have been snowboarding since I was really little," she revealed while stopping by E!'s Daily Pop in 2022. "I skied first and then I switched over to snowboarding at probably 8 or 9."

Which was a fun surprise for White the first time they took to the slopes. "He was expecting to wait for me and it was quite the opposite," she shared. "I had already passed him by a landslide. Now I can keep up!"

That moment checked off a big box for White. 

"She's really good on the board," he told E! News in May. "She grew up in Canada. So, it was nice 'cause that's definitely sometimes a relationship make-or-break. Not if they can't ride, but I've had people come up with me and it didn't end well 'cause I'm not the best coach at times."

And that chemistry Dobrev mentioned? It's certainly there, as evidenced by their August 2020 ocean romp in Mexico—a piggyback ride and deep water smooch the stuff of rom-com highlight reels. 

"Nina and Shaun complement each other very well," the insider told E! News. "They have similar energy, they both are fun, low-maintenance people who like to laugh." 

Not to mention, they're supportive AF. Though COVID protocols prevented Dobrev from joining her man at his fifth—and final!—Olympic Games in Beijing, she sent him off with quite the farewell. "My sendoff to China was just so beautiful," he raved on Today. "She made this incredible video of all my friends and family. Really incredible."

Because that's how she sees him. "I am really excited for him," she said during her appearance on E!'s Daily Pop. "Just to get into the Olympics at all is one of the hugest accomplishments, let alone to get in five times. I'm so excited. I'm so proud of him."

It's a love he could feel all the way in China. 

"I wish she could have been here," White said on Today. "She was trying her hardest to sneak in somehow. But, you know, she's been so supportive and so wonderful, really just in my corner every step of the way."

(This story was originally published on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020 at 12 a.m. PT.)