‘The Vampire Diaries’ stars break silence on ‘forced’ plot twist

Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley didn’t hold back when offering critical view on one of the major couples in The Vampire Diaries.

During a fiery conversion on the recent episode of Hot Ones Versus, Somerhalder, who played Damon Salvatore in the fan-favourite series, agreed with some fans who think Stefan and Caroline, ship name Steroline, were a forced couple.

As the 46-year-old actor dove into spicy chicken wings with his co-star, he asked Wesley, who played Damon’s brother Stefan, to reveal a storyline that "should’ve never made it out of the writer’s room."

"After Nina [Dobrev] left the show, they were like, 'We need to pair Stefan with some romantic partner’ and then Stefan and Caroline (Candice King) ended up having a wedding and getting married, right?" Wesley recalled. 

"Oh yeah, it was a little forced, but it was cute," Somerhalder weighed in, agreeing with the 42-year-old actor.

Although the onscreen brothers were on the same page about the 'forced' couple, Somerhalder added, "It was cute."

"She's pretty, and you're pretty," he complimented Wesley and King.

Starting in 2009, the supernatural series ended in 2017 after eight seasons. While some fans appreciated the grounded nature of Steroline’s friendship-turned-romance, many argued it felt forced and lacked the depth of other pairings, such as Damon and Elena.