Nearly a decade after The Vampire Diaries ended, the supernatural drama continues sparking real-life love stories. Original cast members Zach Roerig (Matt Donovan) and Arielle Kebbel (Lexi Branson) made their relationship official with a swoon-worthy moment at the “I Was Feeling Epic 3” fan convention in Georgia on April 6.
A viral fan video captured Roerig, 38, surprising Kebbel, 39, with a massive bouquet before they shared a tender kiss—prompting deafening cheers from attendees.
Kebbel later confirmed the romance by commenting with three heart emojis on a fan account’s repost of the clip.
Though their characters rarely interacted on the CW series (which aired 2009-2017), the actors finally played lovers in Hallmark’s 2023 film Love in the Great Smoky Mountains: A National Park Romance.
The pairing continues TVD‘s legacy of off-screen romances: Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder dated from 2010-2013, while Joseph Morgan married co-star Persia White in 2014. Roerig himself was previously linked to castmate Candice Accola.
In a 2017 EW essay, Roerig reflected on the show’s impact: “It’s been a quarter of my life… We all started in the midst of life turmoil, and through these eight years we patched ourselves up.” Now, it seems Mystic Falls’ magic still lingers for these alumni.
