Ian Somerhalder and Nina Dobrev: Why We Love Each Other

USMagazine, Monday, September 12, 2011, 9:41am (PDT)

After years of trying to keep their relationship on the DL, The Vampire Diaries' Ian Somerhalder and Nina Dobrev are finally ready to talk about their real-life romance.

When Us Weekly caught up with the couple at The CW's Fall Premiere Party in Burbank, Calif. Saturday, Somerhalder, 32, said there are "a million things" he loves about his girlfriend of more than a year.

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"She truly enjoys life," he gushed. "Her desire to experience and appreciate everything around her, and chuckle and enjoy it, is great."

That's not the only reason Somerhalder is head-over-heels for the Bulgarian-Canadian actress, 22.

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"When you're really close to someone, they can make fun of you a lot and get away with it," he said. "But they sort of poke you in all of the places -- it all makes sense because they know you so well and it really pisses you off, but it forces you to sort of be introspective and ask yourself, 'Wow, is that really how people see me?' Apparently so!"

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Dobrev -- who wowed in a Dior dress and Brian Atwood shoes at the star-studded event -- is equally as enamored with Somerhalder.

"He always has a positive outlook and positive energy, and he's always happy," she told Us. "He is a glass-half-full kind of guy, not half-empty."

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