❝Another comfort is having her longtime boyfriend, 33-year-old actor Ian Somerhalder—who plays a diabolical vampire on Diaries—nearby for on-set chats. Part of his allure, Dobrev says, is their 10-year age difference. “Women mature a lot faster than men do so I’ve always had trouble relating—or not relating,” she says. “I like to be challenged. I like to be inspired and constantly be learning. I feel like when I’m with someone who’s older than me they have a certain amount of experience in life. There’s a maturity. There’s a different sort of knowledge that they bring to a relationship and the conversations are very different.” Fans have speculated the couple may be headed down the aisle but Dobrev is quick to quell the rumours. “Eventually I am going to marry and have a family but not anytime soon. I’m not going to pull a Miley [Cyrus]. In this day and age, people are getting married later and having kids later, and I’m not going to be an exception to that. It’s extremely important to have the time and energy to do things like have kids or give your love and attention to another human being properly.❞