From a casual meet-cute in Vegas to publicly planning out their future together, Nina Dobrev and Shaun White’s relationship journey may have some things to teach about enduring love to Hollywood couples yet.
Fans first got an inkling of the couple’s romance through the trusted Instagram in 2020, when the pair started sharing suspiciously similar photos from a South African excursion.
It started innocently enough, with the Vampire Diaries actress sharing pictures of her safari getaway across South Africa, living up to her self-proclaimed globe-trotter identity.
Speaking in a 2018 interview with Cosmopolitan the actress said, “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.”
But little did Dobrev know that it is this love for a nomadic lifestyle that would solidify her bond with her current beau, Shaun White.
The Degrassi actress booked the South African excursion following the end of her one-year romance with writer-director Grant Mellon, following her own advice on how to best deal with a breakup, “A plane ticket, a glass of tequila, and a group of girlfriends.” But this time, Dobrev switched out her girlfriends for a new paramour.
As Dobrev shared pictures, keen-eyed fans were quick to notice that this wasn’t just a trip for one. In another corner of Instagram, Olympian Shaun White was posting suspiciously similar photos that were a dead giveaway that this was a couple’s retreat.
Reflecting on his romantic life, the three-time gold medal winner has noted that his partner should be able to mirror his ‘on-the-road lifestyle,’ rendering the wayfaring pair a match made in heaven. White told Essentially Sports, “We live in two different worlds, so that’s why it’s nice to come together and share stories from the road.”