After her breakup with Shaun White, Nina Dobrev has been spending a lot of time with Zac Efron. So much time, that rumors have started bubbling up she may be moving on from White already. As pics of their wet and wild boating trips in Italy have blown up, here’s the truth about what’s really going on between Dobrev and Efron.
Photos of the two actors soaking in the sun on a yacht on the Italian coast were published on Sept. 18, one week after Dobrev’s breakup with former fiancé White was first reported. While outlets like TMZ pointed out the chemistry seemingly apparent in the pics of the two actors, they were not alone on their seafaring trip. They set sail alongside couple pals Miles and Keleigh Teller, and Chace Crawford and Kelsey Merritt.
Being the only singles on such a romantic getaway may cause some to believe Dobrev and Efron may have been interested in exploring more of a connection, but according to Us Weekly’s source, they remain just friends.
“Nina and Zac are not dating and have been good friends for over a decade,” the outlet reported. “Their friends always joke that they should date, but that is not what is going on. They have been there for each other through many phases of life and have always had each other’s back.”
And Dobrev herself confirmed that report on Oct. 1, when TMZ straight-up asked her the nature of her relationship with Efron. “We’re just mates,” Dobrev responded.
Per the Us Weekly source, Efron is one of the close friends who’s helping Dobrev out amidst her breakup: “[She] has truly felt a lot of love and support. Everyone has been lifting her spirits and she has been in a better place after taking some time away following her split from Shaun.”
Dobrev and Efron actually have a very long friendship history, having first been photographed together in 2010 watching a Lakers game with Dobrev’s The Vampire Diaries co-stars. In 2015, they went out bowling in Atlanta with Julianne Hough while all three were filming there. And in 2019, Efron referred to Dobrev as his “close friend” in a video on his YouTube channel where they worked out together.
Efron has been a friend to Dobrev for about 15 years now, and it looks like he’s lending even more support to his buddy when she needs it most.
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