Nina Dobrev shocked Vampire Diaries fans in June when she revealed that she totally hated costar Paul Wesley , despite their on-screen chemistry. The two are close friends now, but it’s kind of amazing how well Nina faked it for those early seasons. Now Paul Wesley has come forward to confirm Nina’s story, and he confesses he didn’t like her much either! Paul addressed the couple’s mutual disdain while speaking with reporters at the Television Critics Association summer press tour on Thursday. “I think the point that Nina was making, and I’ll totally back her up on this, is that we totally clashed [the] first couple years,” Paul said. He didn’t mention any specific confrontations, but admitted he and she had the tendacy of “just getting on each other’s nerves.” But Paul, now 37, wants us to know that that’s in the past, and that he and Nina later “developed this wonderful friendship.” “So it’s like this nice, happy ending,” Paul told reporters. For Paul, part of the problem with Nina was overexposure. The two went from being total strangers to seeing way, way too much of each other. Both of the stars were also constantly exhausted from the rigorous filming and promotional schedule. “When people work together nonstop, do press nonstop for years and years on end,” Paul reasoned. “You don’t appreciate the person that’s in front of you.” “You’re like, ‘Oh, you know, I’m exhausted and tired,'” he added. Paul continued, “And I think now, it’s such a nice story because we’re such good friends.” It can be so stressful when you can’t find any time off from a busy work schedule, and only see the same few coworkers all day. In that pressure cooker scenario, you can start to resent even the tiniest flaws of those around you. We can forgive these two for rubbing each other the wrong way back in the day, and we love that they’re so tight now. “I think it was a cool lesson to learn,” Paul recalled on Thursday. He went on to explain, “It’s like the poeple that … maybe you don’t get along with in the beginning later surprise you.” “I think a lot of my friendships are like that,” Paul concluded. Well, we hope most of his friendships didn’t start out with mutual hatred. But there’s a lot to be said for being patient with those we don’t immediately like, and giving friendship a chance to grow. For Paul, learning this was just part of growing up. Afterall, he and Nina were much younger when The Vampire Diaries first aired on The CW. “We were both kids,” Paul remembered about their first years together. “She was, you know, couldn’t even legally drink. I was like, 24 or 25,” he said. It sounds like Nina and Paul struggled to adapt to becoming so successful so suddenly, and at such a young age. “We were both on this big show,” Paul recalled, “It’s like high school. It’s kind of like being at summer camp.” These two stars clearly had a pretty rocky start with each other. But both have gone on to say they now keep in touch regularly and hang out “all the time.” We’re glad Paul and Nina got their real-life happy ending, for now at least. We hope they’ll get the chance to work together again soon, this time as good friends. View Slideshow: The Vampire Diaries Finale: 13 Shockers!
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Paul Wesley: I Totally Hated You Too, Nina Dobrev
