3 days ago
3
Nina Dobrev Recalls Battling Depression After Bike Accident in May (Exclusive)
Nina Dobrev is celebrating the small wins.
Seven months after The Vampire Diaries actress underwent knee surgery due to a bike accident, Nina shared an exciting update on her recovery.
“It’s been 7 months since my knee surgery and I graduated to JOGGING in physical therapy,” she wrote over a video of her training sessions posted to Instagram Stories Dec. 18. “Knee is getting stronger and milestones like these may seem insignificant to the normal (healthy) person but they make me feel like LeBron [James].”
“It’s been a long journey to get here, I’m feeling very emotional, grateful, and proud to be where I am today,” Nina—who recently got engaged to longtime boyfriend Shaun White—continued. “Still have 4.5 months to go until I’m at 100% but feeling optimistic. I see light at the end of the tunnel!”
And while the 35-year-old remained resilient and hopeful, her recovery proved to be quite a difficult journey. In fact, she recently shared insight into the emotional toll the accident took on her—especially during the warm summer months.
"With the pain meds and the physical pain that you're going through and not being able to walk and seeing everybody gallivanting across Europe on Instagram, enjoying the summer and I'm sitting in bed," Nina told E! News in August. "It was just mentally, it was really challenging. Even the pain meds mess with your head."
"I definitely was in a depression,” she added. “I had a really hard time."
As for exactly what caused the accident? The Perks of Being a Wallflower actress revealed that the culprit was a dirt bike—and it was her first time ever on one.
"I've never ridden before, and it was going fine for a while,” she recalled to E!. “It was right at the very end, I just lost control of the bike, and I ended up in a wheelie. I landed on one leg, and the pressure of the landing snapped my knee."
Instagram / Nina Dobrev
And this scary incident caused her to reconsider her and Shaun’s otherwise very active and spontaneous lifestyle.
"I feel like I have a fear now. I used to be so adventurous and down to do anything,” she admitted. “I’m still having to relearn how to walk so the idea of getting back to the snowboard or getting on a dirt bike ever again is definitely not happening."
But while Nina spends some time focusing on her recovery, keep reading to look back at her and Shaun’s four-year relationship…
January 2020: Happy New Year...
Dobrev and White hit it off after they partied together with friends, including her Vampire Diaries co-stars Kayla Ewell and Candice Accola King, at the opening of the Bellagio Resort & Casino's new supper club The Mayfair in Las Vegas on New Year's Eve.
A year later, amid the coronavirus pandemic, Dobrev would share this photo of her and White at the bash, as well as a video of him lifting her up Dirty Dancing-style only to have them both topple into the snow. She wrote, "How we thought 2020 would go...how it actually went."
George Pimentel/Getty Images; John Salangsang/Shutterstock
March 2020: Romantic Bike Ride
Dobrev and White spark romance rumors after they are spotted riding bikes together in Malibu, Calif. A source tells E! News that the two began to "ease into a relationship" after spending New Year's Eve together, adding that things "really accelerated" between the two after the coronavirus pandemic broke out.
"After spending weeks together during quarantine," the source says, "Nina and Shaun have made it clear to their friends that they are a serious couple."
Nina Dobrev / Instagram
May 2020: Snip Snip
The two make their relationship Instagram official when both share a photo of the actress trimming White's red hair. Most hair salons closed due to COVID-19 restrictions. Under her post, Dobrev writes, "Adding to resume: hairdresser."
Instagram / Shaun White
November 2020: Happy Thanksgiving
Dobrev and White celebrate Thanksgiving with his family, as seen in photos he posts on Instagram.
Instagram / Shaun White
December 2020: Road Trip!
Judging from their Instagrams, Dobrev and White vacationed together in the Zion National Park area in Utah twice in 2020, in May and in December.
December 2020: Happy Holidays
Nina Dobrev/Instagram
December 2020: "So In Love"
Just before New Year's Eve, another source tells E! News that the two "are genuinely so in love."
"They openly talk about their future together," the insider continued. "They're just super happy, and things are going really well with them."
January 2021: Happy Birthday, Nina... Again!
Dobrev celebrated a "redo" of her 31st birthday on her 32rd and White paid tribute to her with photos of the two sporting these looks.
October 2021: Check Mate
Alonside pal Adam DeVine, the couple dressed up as characters from The Queen's Gambit for Halloween with White going as as the iconic Beth Harmon and Dobrev channelling U.S. chess champion, Benny Watts.
January 2022: Snow Bunnies
Dobrev hit the slopes with her pro snowboarder love at Copper Mountain in Colorado.
Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
February 2022: Last Olympics
After White finished fourth in the Men's Snowboard Halfpipe at the 2022 Olympics and officially retired from competing, Dobrev expressed how proud she was of him.
"The end of one chapter, means the beginning of an exciting new one with endless possibilities," she wrote in part of an Instagram post. "You will forever be the G.O.A.T. of snowboarding. Not to mention you are also the G.(B).O.A.T. = Greatest Boyfriend Of All Time."
James Veysey/Shutterstock
May 2022: Red Carpet Debut
The couple finally went red carpet official at the Top Gun: Maverick film premiere in London.
May 2022: Red Hot Romance
Alongside her tux-clad boyfriend, Dobrev sizzled in a red Monot gown at the 28th annual amfAR Gala during the 75th Cannes Film Festival.
Pascal Le Segretain/WireImage
May 2022: Hearts Racing
The pair watched the qualifying for the F1 Grand Prix of Monaco ahead of the big race. For the occasion, Dobrev looked wore a chic, chalk-colored suit by Smythe.
June 2022: Fun in the Sun
The two turned up the heat while vacationing in the Maldives.
September 2022: Birthday Boy
"I really picked a winner [ and he really picked a booger ]," Dobrev wrote in an Instagram tribute for White's 36th birthday. "Happy belated Birthday you weirdo. My weirdo. @shaunwhite."
TikTok
October 2022: Degrassi Days
What did White really think of Dobrev's cheerleading scene from Degrassi: The Next Generation? The athlete gave his reaction on TikTok and proved once again they're always on each other's squads.
December 2022: Family Time
The duo celebrated the holidays with a family trip to Mexico.
January 2023: An Out-of-This-World Tribute
"What planet are you from and will you take me with you?!" White wrote on Instagram for Dobrev's 34th birthday during their trip to Antarctica. "Thanks for making life incredible! Happy birthday my love."
February 2023: Valentine's Day
"Life is a roller coaster with you," the actress wrote on Valentine's Day 2023. "It goes from serious to baby birding in seconds … thank you for always making me smile. happy valentine’s day @shaunwhite."
January 2024: Sweet Shout-Out
"Life with you has been my greatest adventure!!" White wrote on Instagram for Dobrev's 35th birthday. "Happy birthday my love!!"
MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images
March 2024: Oscars Night
The duo looked so sharp at the 2024 Vanity Fair Oscar Party they deserve their own trophy.
Instagram / Nina Dobrev
July 2024: Happy Independence Day
The two celebrated the Fourth of July with several celebrity friends, including Miles Teller and Keleigh Teller and Usher.
Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty Images
October 2024: Engaged
Shaun and Nina announced their engagement Oct. 30, 2024. A week later, they walked their first red carpet as an engaged couple, at the 2024 Earthshot Prize Awards in Cape Town, South Africa.
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App
English (US) ·