Nina Dobrev on How She and Shaun White Keep Their Dating Life 'Exciting' After Nearly 4 Years Together (Exclusive)

Dobrev tells PEOPLE she and White rely on a "really cool" way to keep their relationship fresh by alternating who plans their date night each week

Nina Dobrev is opening up about how she keeps things fresh with her boyfriend of nearly four years, Shaun White.

On the latest episode of PEOPLE in 10, The Bricklayer star, 35, shares that she and the former professional snowboarder and skateboarder, 37, rotate who plans their date nights.

“In general, I'm more of a planner in life. Yeah, I like a schedule and I like a plan for sure. I'm a Capricorn so that's very much part of my personality,” she explains. “But, we implemented something, I think, it's really cool. We do date night every week and we alternate [planning].” 

Nina Dobrev wearing Khaite and Shaun White arrives at the Los Angeles Premiere Of Netflix's "The Out-Laws"
Nina Dobrev wearing Khaite and Shaun White arrives at the Los Angeles Premiere Of Netflix's "The Out-Laws" at Regal LA Live on June 26, 2023.

Steve Granitz/FilmMagic

She continues: “So, one week I'll plan it and he won't have any idea what we're doing so it's a surprise for him. And then the following week, he'll plan and it'll be a complete surprise for me. And we do that every single week.” 

The Vampire Diaries alum adds the experience “keeps things sort of exciting and interesting and dedicates time for the two of us to spend together.”

Dobrev also shares that the pair enjoyed spending time together when the Olympian visited her in Greece while filming The Bricklayer.

“You know it's interesting because during the Olympics and leading up to the Olympics, he was traveling all over the world, trying to get to the mountains and training,” she says of White, who announced he planned to retire following the 2022 Beijing Olympics. 

Shaun White and Nina Dobrev attend 56th Annual Gold Medal Gala a
Shaun White and Nina Dobrev attend the 56th Annual Gold Medal Gala.

Gotham/Getty Images

“So for a lot of our relationship, it was me traveling to where he had to be, except for during COVID when I was in between jobs and so it was cool to have him support me and come out to where I was,” she adds. “The only bummer was that I missed the Oscars because he presented at the Oscars while I was shooting, so I couldn't go but he had to bring his mama and they looked beautiful together and she got an experience of a lifetime so that was really awesome.”

The pair also recently celebrated Dobrev’s 35th birthday at the happiest place on Earth.

The actress shared photos from her surprise trip to Disneyland — which was planned by White — in a carousel on Instagram earlier this month.

"Happiest surprise on the happiest day at the happiest place on earth," Dobrev wrote. "Some of my closest friends surprised me on January 9th … and I have to say I am HARD to SURPRISE. I always know what’s up. But they got me good."

She joked that she was "still in shock" but feeling "incredibly lucky, celebrated, loved, grateful and appreciative" of everyone who helped her celebrate her big day. "When it comes to friends, I definitely hit the jackpot," she added.

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Dobrev concluded with some words for White: "Huge thank you to my love @shaunwhite for orchestrating the whole thing! You sneaky lil devil ♥️🥰🫶🏼😍😘. Love you."

In April, White told PEOPLE he feels "no pressure" to propose to Dobrev.

"We're just enjoying our time together right now," White said. "But I told her, I was like, 'Look, after the Olympics, I finally got my freedom to do whatever. And let's just have fun and be together and support each other.'"

"But you never know. We'll see what happens," he added.

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