Nina Dobrev and Shaun White have ended their five-year relationship and called off their engagement, a source close to the pair told People on Thursday. The split was described as "a mutual decision" made "with love and a deep respect for one another."
An insider told the Daily Mail the breakup followed a period in which the couple were moving in different directions, with White, 39, reportedly eager to start a family and Dobrev, 36, prioritizing her acting career and professional projects. The source said White, a three-time Olympic gold medalist who retired from competitive snowboarding after the Beijing Games, had been preparing for life as a father and pursuing entrepreneurial interests, while Dobrev remained focused on advancing her acting work.
The insider told the Daily Mail the couple — who confirmed their romance on social media in April 2020, after meeting a year earlier at an event — fell in love during the COVID-19 pandemic but struggled to adjust once life returned to a more public pace. "They fell in love [during the pandemic] and thrived but once they got out, like many relationships both in the celebrity world and in the real world, something changed," the source said, adding that both parties share blame for not nurturing the relationship.
White publicly expressed an interest in fatherhood in January 2022, telling Us Weekly he would "love to be a dad." The pair announced their engagement in 2024 after White proposed in New York City. Fans noted signs of a shift in recent weeks when Dobrev unpinned their engagement announcement on social media and was seen without her engagement ring during an appearance at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.
The couple were last photographed together on Aug. 31. The Daily Mail source said that, while there was love between them and they had "an incredible time with each other," they became "stuck in their own ways" and were not growing together toward a shared goal. The insider added that ending the relationship now allowed both to move on without the "baggage" that could come from staying together until resentment developed.
Representatives for Dobrev and White did not immediately comment beyond the People statement. It remains unclear exactly when the couple decided to split.
The reported breakup follows a relationship that began in the early months of the pandemic and became public as the pair navigated high-profile careers and evolving post-retirement plans. Insiders characterized the decision to part as sober and mutual, emphasizing that both prioritized leaving the relationship before it became untenable.
Reporting on the split has cited People and the Daily Mail; the couple have not released a joint public statement beyond confirming the mutual nature of the decision through a close source.