Stelena

"Now this is fascinating, I've never seen this before. The only thing stronger than your craving for blood, is your love for this one girl."

- Klaus Mikaelson to Stefan.

Stelena is the het ship between Elena Gilbert and Stefan Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries fandom.

TV-Series
Stefan and Elena first met when he returned to town to get to know Elena after saving her from a car accident. He went to her school and the two bumped into each other in the hallway where they were both mesmerized by each other and had trouble maintaining a conversation without getting tongue-tied. Stefan in particular was in awe of Elena and looked back at her after the two parted ways. When Elena visited her parent's graves and was scared off by Damon Salvatore (unknowingly), she ran out of the forest until she bumped into Stefan again. The two kept admiring each other like before, and eventually, Stefan properly introduced himself to Elena, to which she said she knew who he was since they both had history. Throughout S1 the two maintained a beautiful and deep relationship. Whenever Elena would be in danger, Stefan would always be there to protect her. From Damon, or anything else that harmed her. After Stefan revealed he was a vampire, Elena was shocked and afraid at the existence of supernatural beings, and despite it hurting her very deeply, she distanced herself from him but still had deep feelings. Some time later deciding to talk to Stefan, Elena goes to his house where the door is answered by Lexi, who had just gotten out of the shower. Misunderstanding, Elena leaves. Stefan comes to Elena's house that evening and realizes that she probably thought Lexi was his rebound, and explains that Lexi is his best friend (and a 350 year old vampire) who came to Mystic Falls to celebrate his birthday. He asks Elena why she came by, but she tells him it was a mistake. Before he leaves, Stefan asks Elena if she needs a ride to Caroline's party. Elena says she's not going, and tells Stefan to have a good time with Lexi. She later changes her mind and goes to Caroline's party, where she is confronted by Lexi. She encourages Elena's feelings for Stefan, and tells her that when it was real, she couldn't walk away. That night Damon kills Lexi. This causes Stefan to leave Elena, telling her she was right to not see him anymore. After the two managed to figure things out, when Stefan tried to leave town for her for her own safety, she told him that was not his decision to make, and that she loved him. After hearing her, Stefan finally allowed himself to fully be with Elena and kissed her. When they went inside the Salvatore Boarding House, Stefan hid his face from Elena since he could not control his blood-lust, but she encouraged him that he could, and told him not to hide from her. Elena declared her love for him and they spent the night together for the first time. Later, Stefan went to go get her a cup of water and left Elena alone in his room. Elena came across his photo of Katherine and was shocked at how much she looked like her. Heartbroken and confused, she took off her necklace and left. Stefan soon came back and found Elena's necklace on Katherine's photo and realized what happened.

That morning, Stefan called Elena to try and explain everything, but instead of Elena, it was Damon who answered the phone. Stefan warned Damon not to hurt Elena and spent the rest of the day waiting for her to come home. When Elena came back, she asked Stefan if he only fell for her because she looked like Katherine. Stefan assured her that he didn't, and while her resemblance to Katherine was what drew him in at first, she was the opposite of everything Katherine was. Stefan told Elena he loved her and she embraced him, making him promise not to keep secrets from her anymore.

Wanting their lives to be normal for once, the two decide to go on a double date with Matt and Caroline at the Mystic Grill. While walking back from the bathroom, a man grabbed Elena's arm and called her "Katherine" but said he mistook her for someone else when he heard Caroline call her "Elena." Suspecting the man was supernatural, Elena came back and texted Stefan so the man couldn't hear. Stefan quickly looked around the bar, but the man had already left. When he was taken and tortured by Frederick (the man in the bar), Damon and Alaric worked together to save him. Elena told Damon she was coming with them to get him out, but Damon believed it would be too risky. Despite his warning however, Elena went into the house with a vervain dart and was scolded by Damon, who got in first. Elena took Stefan away from the house and to the car, but they were attacked by Frederick who stuck a branch in Stefan, badly wounding him. Elena shot Frederick with a vervain dart and took out the branch, but seeing that Stefan was severely weak, she let him to drink her blood to get stronger. Stefan refused, but eventually gave in and ferociously killed Frederick. His behavior had frightened Elena, as she had never seen him like that before. When they got back to the Salvatore Boarding House, Stefan thanked Elena for her help and apologized, as he never wanted her to see him like that. Unbeknownst to Elena, Stefan could not control his blood-lust and grew a craving for human blood. When Damon came back home after drinking at the bar, he caught Stefan draining multiple blood bags.

At the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant, Stefan was Elena's escort, and the more human blood he drank the more dangerous he was getting. He tried to keep it a secret from Elena, but she eventually found out through Damon. Stefan walked in on the conversation but his attempt to assure Elena that he was fine failed. Carol Lockwood came by and told Elena to change since it was time, and Stefan left the room. He went into the bathroom frustrated by his craving and broke the mirror on the wall before getting interrupted by Amber Bradley, another contestant. He compelled her to not be afraid and took her away from the event. Stefan viciously fed on her but once he realized he was out of control, he begged and compelled Amber to be frightened of him and run away. Still not being able to control himself, he catched up to her and fed. Before he could kill her, Elena arrived alongside Bonnie and Damon and yelled at him to stop. Horrified at what he had done and how she'd seen him like that, Stefan ran away.

For his own good, Elena went to Alaric and asked for one of his vervain darts, which she injected into Stefan to weaken him. She and Damon locked Stefan in the basement until the human blood left his system. Stefan was guilt-ridden about the recent events and wanted to die. He refused to drink the animal blood he was given and Damon explained to Elena how they had become vampires: Stefan had transformed first and forced Damon to do so afterwards. Stefan believed that he was responsible for making a monster out of his brother and every bad thing that had happened was his fault. He tried to scare Elena away, but was unsuccessful. She left the cell door open so when he was ready to talk, he could come upstairs. But Stefan ran and left his daylight ring behind and went to the quarry where he awaited the sun to rise so he could turn to ash and die. When Elena arrived, Stefan explained how much the guilt and pain had hurt him, and the constant craving for blood terrified him because he may not be able to control it any longer and hurt her. Elena knew that would never happen and comforted Stefan. Encouraging him, she explained that he chose to be a good person despite his craving for blood. She put the ring in his hand and told him it was his decision to either let the sun rise and die, or fight against the blood. As she walked away, Stefan soon called out to her and put the ring back on.

In S2 when Damon tried to kiss Elena, she pushed him away and tried to tell him that she loved Stefan and it was always going to be Stefan. Broken by her rejection, Damon snapped her brother's neck and left. Stefan arrived immediately and held Elena, comforting her throughout the night. The return of Katherine Pierce left their relationship on a rocky patch because of Katherine's jealousy, and the two were forced to break up. Katherine was soon sealed in a tomb, and at the time Elena was kidnapped and delivered to Elijah Mikaelson, an Original vampire. Stefan saved Elena and rescued her and the two rekindled their relationship, knowing they didn't ever want to be separated from each other again. Though it was soon revealed that Elena was in grave danger. Klaus Mikaelson, the oldest vampire in the history of time, was after her to break his curse. Elena made a deal with Elijah (who wanted to kill Klaus) and the two worked together to take him down. When Klaus arrived to Mystic Falls, realizing there would be no other way to break the curse without her dying, Elena decided to go with him. Stefan stops her and holds her back and Klaus warns him to not let him kill anyone else today. Elena kisses Stefan and tells him she loves him, and asks him to close his eyes. When he does, Klaus takes Elena and they disappear.

After Klaus' original plan gets messed up by Damon, he kidnaps Elena's aunt Jenna, turns her into a vampire, and kills her for the ritual. Before Stefan could save her, Klaus already moved onto Elena and drained the blood from her body. She was brought to life by Bonnie Bennett and John Gilbert after Damon saved her.

In S3, she rejects Damon and chooses Stefan. The two shared many romantic and beautiful moments together, and their relationship was rekindled and lasted at the beginning of S4. When Elena was still human and was transitioning into a vampire, she told Stefan that out of all the decisions she'd made in her life, loving him was the best one she'd ever made.

Elena and Stefan's love for each other is the most recurring theme in The Vampire Diaries. The two formed a strong, beautiful and deep relationship that even many of their enemies praised. When Klaus turned off Stefan's humanity and ordered him to kill Elena, Stefan fought back and refused his order. Klaus even commented on their relationship stating “that kind of love never dies.” even Katherine Pierce, who had tried to break them up many times because they "didn't belong together" told Stefan that even with one night or an eternity, he would never look at her the same way he looks at Elena.

Another recurring theme is Stefan and Elena's supportive and positive relationship. Even broken up the two still had affection for each other and understood one another better than anyone else. When Silas locked Stefan up in a well for the whole summer, the only thing that kept Stefan from turning off his humanity were his thoughts of Elena. When he fake proposed to Elena he told her she “brought him back from the edge” and when Caroline turned off his humanity, he asked only Elena to bring him back. The show focuses on how the only thing that makes Stefan keep his humanity was and would always be Elena. This recurring theme does not only happen to Stefan however, when Damon forced Elena to turn off her humanity after Jeremy's death, he was not able to return it while Stefan was. When Vicki sets Alaric's car on fire and Elena is trapped inside along with Stefan, who's knocked out by vervain, Elena calls out to him and he wakes up after hearing her. He murmurs Elena's name and when he realizes that she’s in danger, even in his weakened state, he uses all his strength to kick the trunk door off it's hinges so that Elena can get out safely before the car explodes. They were constantly by the other's side. The only time Stefan did not save Elena was when she asked him not to. He respected her choice regardless of how much he wanted to go against her wishes.

"She's the love of my life. I'd go back to her in a heartbeat."

- Stefan about Elena In the last episode of The Vampire Diaries, Stefan and Elena share an emotional goodbye before his death.

Moments

 * In Unpleasantville, Elena and Stefan dance together at the Mystic Falls High party.
 * In Children of the Damned, knowing that he can't come out of the tomb that is meant to seal vampires, Stefan goes in to save Elena anyway.
 * In Let The Right One In, knowing she might possibly die, Elena saves Stefan from Frederick, and lets him feed on her.
 * When asked to describe Elena, Stefan said that she was warm and kind, and he forgot who he really was around her.
 * In Season 1, Stefan brings Elena flowers.
 * Elena talked to Stefan about her mother as he cooked for her.
 * Stefan and Elena constantly protect each other throughout Season 1 of The Vampire Diaries.
 * When Stefan can't control his bloodlust after he takes Elena's human blood in Let The Right On In, he does everything in his power to restrain himself from hurting Elena. Despite knowing he is dangerous to be around, Elena saves Stefan no matter the cost anyway.

Quotes
"Well crazy or not, that kind of love never dies."

- Klaus about Stefan and Elena. "One night, an eternity. You'd never look at me the way you look at Elena, would you?"

- Katherine to Stefan. "I loved her more than I ever thought I could love somebody else."

- Stefan about Elena. "Dear Diary, this morning is different. There is change. I can sense it. I can feel it. For once, I don't regret the day before it begins. I will see him again. For the first time in a long time, I feel good."

- Elena in her diary about Stefan. "I'm awake. For the first time in a long time, I feel completely and undeniably wide awake. I welcome the day. I will see her again."

- Stefan in his diary about Elena. "If you walk away, it's for you because I know what I want. Stefan, I love you!"

- Elena to Stefan. "You are the woman that I love. I love you."

- Stefan to Elena. "If It was my choice, I'd wanna be with you forever."

- Stefan to Elena. "I never stopped loving you."

- Elena to Stefan. "It's always gonna be Stefan."

- Damon to Elena. "No matter what I feel for you, I never unfelt for him."

- Elena to Damon about Stefan. "No. I don't think we'd get together if you were still human. You had a choice. You chose Stefan. Human you was on your way home to him."

- Damon to Elena. "Must be hard trying to live up to Stefan. I remember when I compelled him to feed on Elena. He fought so hard he actually managed to resist. Now, that's love."

- Klaus to Damon. "Stefan is your epic love."

- Caroline to Elena. "No vampire but you."

- Elena to Stefan. "Thank you for bumping into me that day in the hallway. I never thought I could be happy again and then I met you. You changed everything for me. You... you quite literally saved my life. I love you so much."

- Elena to Stefan.

Behind The Scenes
"What this (Stefan and Elena's relationship) is about, it's that love is eternal. And that's an universal and timeless theme."

- Kevin Williamson. "We always said in the PILOT It's a girl who feels dead inside, and a boy who IS dead inside, and how they bring each other back to life."

- Julie Plec on Stefan and Elena. "It is the most romantic moment of the series. It's a guy trying so hard to hold onto to his humanity through his love for this one girl- and watching as it gets ripped out of him. And we went back and said: Make it epic. Make it sad and beautiful, use the love cue that Stefan and Elena have, use that cue, not the scary cue."

- Julie Plec on Season 3 Episode 5. "Oh yeah. Caroline is still a Stelena fan."

- Candice Accola on Caroline. "Of course. If Damon and Elena get together I'm gonna get very jealous. I don't know what's going to happen with that, but I think Elena's true love is Stefan. Speaking from an objective place I really believe that it's her true love. And as charming and good looking as Damon is.. I think it'd be more of a fling."

- Paul Wesley. "He's madly in love with Elena. And.. umm.. he .. That's his girl, Elena. She's his one sort of light at the end of the tunnel."

- Paul Wesley on Stefan. "He had a friend like Lexi, but I think something happened and he became very reclusive and I don’t know when that occurred but Elena certainly brought him out of that funk. Stefan is this sort of hopeless romantic and Elena, she’s the love of his life."

- Paul Wesley on Stefan. "Stefan, who's.. at the beginning she just think he's a great guy who's obviously attractive and intelligent and she just has great time around him, but they also had this unspoken connection and chemistry that neither of them can just really explain. But they just.. they just jive at another level."

- Nina Dobrev about Stelena. "Stefan. Whenever he's around she just.. it's almost like— melts into his arms and she feels somewhat relief."

- Nina Dobrev on who Elena loves. "Well I'm biased. I think that deep down she's in love with a person that Stefan is. She loves the type of... She loves warm-hearted people who are loving. That's the person that she fell in love with."

- Nina Dobrev on who Elena loves between Stefan and Damon. "Marry Stefan."

- Nina Dobrev playing "Screw, Marry, Kill." "Stefan is so good to Elena and still people for some reason go crazy over Damon."

- Nina Dobrev on the Love Triangle. "Elena is in love with Stefan. And she really was not searching, but it sort of came to her. He’s like this spirit, this person, this thing that fills the emptiness and the loss in her life."

- Nina Dobrev on who Elena is in love with. "We want to make it as real as possible, and as genuine, and we want to make everyone fall in love with these characters and believe the love story. That’s what it’s about. It’s about Stefan and Elena’s undying love."

- Nina Dobrev on Stefan and Elena. "I know an epic love story when I see one, and I felt like Elena and Stefan had an epic love."

- Nina Dobrev on Stelena before her leave. "Anything is possible but to my knowledge, at this point, her (Elena's) heart is strictly for Stefan. As Stefan's heart is strictly for Elena."

- Paul Wesley. "If Nina had never left, I would’ve loved to have been able to see if Stefan and Elena could've found their way back to each other."

- Julie Plec on Stefan and Elena. "That’s a beautiful commitment in their relationship. It’s kind of like a monogamy commitment in a way. It’s a little cheesy and it’s very perverse, but I thought it was kind of beautiful and special. One very telling thing that he said two episodes ago was that he has something else to live for. The difference between last year and this year is last year he didn’t believe he deserved Elena’s love. Right now we’re at a place where Stefan has come to terms with some of his demons and is feeling very strong in his love for Elena and is confident that she loves him in spite of their current relationship problems. Stefan opens the closet door and he sees her, and they come face-to-face. It’s the strangest moment because she’s in his, like, murder board closet, but the way they look at each other… and you realize, ohmygod, these two have not seen each other in so long, and they love each other so much, and the look on his face… We know how much he needs her, how she’s what keeps him from falling over the edge, and he’s in this predicament: “Oh god, is she about to get caught? Am I about to get caught?” It’s just this powerful reunion that always makes me get a little teary."

- Julie Plec on Stefan and Elena. "They (Stefan and Caroline) are sharing an experience of having to say goodbye to someone they care about who ultimately is Stefan's true love."

- Julie Plec about Elena. "When the show first started I really liked.. I thought Stefan and Elena's storyline was very interesting and I really love that romance that they've.. I thought it was really special. Very beautiful. I think the show is sort of rooted itself in that romance. I think of that romance on kind with the kind of basis of The Vampire Diaries in many ways. Um.. Well, you know, once Nina left the show we needed to develop other relationships and I thought that this Stefan/Caroline relationship was pretty great. So, It's hard to compare the two because there is something interesting about Stefan and Caroline- friends sort of becoming romantic. It's completely different, I think the Stefan and Elena's storyline was a little bit more- kind of the HEART of the show."

- Paul Wesley on Stelena and Steroline. "I think there’s always gonna be this residual “I’m in love with you”, but he respects her as a friend which is a very difficult and manly thing to do."

- Paul Wesley on Stefan to Elena. "The moment when I really thought we had something special, was when Stefan and Elena met. I thought they were electric."

- Kevin Williamson on Stelena. "I'm a Stelena. I've gone on record as a Stelena. It's Stefan and Elena for me. That's who, in another universe, that's how I would have ended the show. However, we lost Elena in the sixth season."

- "Williamson then reveals in a shocking twist that initially he wanted to get Dobrev back for the entire final season, not just the last episode. Had she been able to return for all 16 episodes of Season 8, that would have changed the ending dramatically." "The bottom line is that Elena and Stefan are the true epic love story of the show. Damon is the third point of the triangle."

- Julie Plec. "In my heart of hearts it’s Stefan & Elena forever on The Vampire Diaries. What Stefan did for Elena was the ultimate act of love. How can it not be Stefan and Elena?! It’s tragic love, but it’s love."

- Kevin Williamson on the TVD finale. "I just want (Stefan) in the end to find his love, that's all he cares about. Of course I want him to end up with Elena. Cause I have to, that's all I can hope for."

- Paul Wesley before the TVD finale. "I'm telling you, all it takes is one shift in writing. All it takes is one intelligently shifted moment or new storyline to sort of diverge and — boom! — we're back on the Stefan and Elena train."

- Paul Wesley on TVD and Stelena. "It was very surreal to shoot the last scene with Nina Dobrev, but everything must come to an end one day or another. I never imagined that Stefan and Elena would end up like this, without love, without something romantic between them."

- Paul Wesley on the TVD finale. "Don't hide from me."

- Paul Wesley's favorite TVD scene (In 2022)

Fanon
Stelena is the most popular ship in The Vampire Diaries fandom, second only to Delena. Though many fans felt that even though Elena got together with Damon at the end of the series, their love wasn't quite as real as her and Stefan's. There is rivalry between Delena, Steroline and Stelena shippers.

Fans of the ship are intrigued with their love story. Not only is the ship popular because of it's soulmate themes but also because of the character's dynamic and personalities. Stefan is deep and understanding, but has trouble sealing the ripper part of himself away, while Elena was compassionate and kind and was the light in his life. They were both supportive of each other and loved one another very deeply. Stefan had always respected Elena's decisions and had done anything he could to protect her, and even though they broke up in the later seasons, fans still believed mutual feelings had always remained between them.

Fans also think had Elena never turned into a vampire and never been sired with Damon, she would've chosen Stefan in a heartbeat. Despite rivalry with Delena's and Steroline's, Stelena and Klaroline shippers have a positive relationship with each other's fandoms. Klaus and Caroline are also jokingly known as the "King and Queen of Shipping Stelena." due to their many positive comments about Stefan and Elena's relationship on the show.

On AO3, Stelena is the third most written romantic The Vampire Diaries ship besides Klaroline and Delena. It is the second most written ship for Elena and the number one most written for Stefan. It is Elena's second most popular ship, and Stefan's first.

Fandom
AO3

TUMBLR

Trivia

 * In an alternate dimension created by Markos, Elena is human and is happily married to her true love, Stefan Salvatore. It is revealed that they also have two children.
 * Stefan is a Scorpio and Elena is a Cancer. Astrologically, they are very compatible.
 * In the novels, Stefan and Elena are Soulmates. In the show, the two said multiple times that they are the loves of each other's lives. Both Caroline and Damon (their respective love interests later in the series) also constantly commented on their relationship and how it was always meant to be.
 * Many characters on the show have been open in their support of Stelena. That includes Klaus, Caroline, Silas, Jeremy, Bonnie, Rebekah, Lexi, Jenna and Matt.
 * Elena last written words in her journal were “I owe it all to Stefan.”
 * Nina Dobrev posted Stelena fan art on her Instagram story on April 17, 2020.
 * Many celebrities have said they supported Stelena. That includes Dinah Jane Hansen and Lauren Jauregui from Fifth Harmony, Torrey DeVitto, Steven R. McQueen, Ian Somerhalder, Nina Dobrev, Charles Michael Davis, Danielle Campbell, Daniella Pineda, Paul Wesley, Julie Plec, Kylie Jenner and Arielle Kebbel.
 * Ian Somerhalder prefers Stelena over Delena.
 * The original ending of The Vampire Diaries would be Elena and Stefan ending up together had Nina Dobrev not left the show, said by Kevin Williamson.
 * Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley are Stelena fans and have supported the couple throughout the entire show. Paul and Nina are also very close friends in real life.
 * Stelena is the only ship name that was said in the show (by Caroline).
 * Elena tells Damon the dream she had about the alternate dimension where she was married to Stefan, and calls it her perfect life and a paradise.
 * Paul Wesley's favorite scene from the entire series is when Elena and Stefan rekindle their relationship in The Turning Point, and when Elena finally gets to see the vampire side of Stefan.
 * Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley are still Stelena fans in 2022. Paul Wesley also said that he was pro Stelena.
 * Nina Dobrev tagged #Stelena on Twitter and Instagram multiple times when she'd post behind the scenes photos of her and Paul. During his birthday, she posted a picture of them with the caption “Happy birthday to my [only] Stefan [forever].”

Official
Cut by Plumb

I'm not a stranger, no I am yours.

Unofficial
Dark Red by Steve Lacy