Stelena

"If you walk away, it's for you, because I know what I want. Stefan, I love you!"

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

Season 1
Elena and Stefan first met when Stefan returned to town to get to know Elena after saving her from a car accident. At school, Elena accidentally bumped into him and there seemed to be an immediate connection between the two. Elena then left dazed and curious but saw Stefan again in class and after school. This time, she ran into him at the cemetery. Stefan kept gazing at Elena as she tried to explain what had happened scared her, but she stopped and decided introduce herself. Throughout Season 1, the two maintained a beautiful relationship. In Episode 3, Stefan gave Elena a necklace that would not only protect her, but would serve as an important symbol of their love later on. However, their relationship hit a rocky patch when Elena became suspicious of Stefan. When she tried to meet up with him, he arrived late and made more excuses on why he was held up. Elena brushed him off and prepared to leave, but was momentarily stopped when she heard an old man say strange things to Stefan. That night, Stefan decided to open up to her and the two made up. After imprisoning Damon, Stefan went to the "Sexy Suds Car Wash" with Elena (who went on behalf of Caroline). When she left Stefan at the car wash, Elena spoke to the same old man who told her he had seen Stefan at the Salvatore Boarding House in 1953. With the help of Logan Fell, Elena investigated this, and saw Stefan's face for herself on an old film at the local television station. Right after, she showed up at Stefan's doorstep demanding to know the truth. He warned her that the truth would change everything she believed in, but Elena refused to back down. Slowly, Stefan confessed that he was a vampire. Elena, shocked and afraid, ran back home, ignoring Stefan's pleas. She went inside her room only to see Stefan (who used his supernatural abilities to arrive faster than her). He assured her he would never do anything to hurt her and tried to explain the situation, but Elena, still frightened, asked him to leave. Stefan did as she asked and left. The next day, Elena arranged a meeting between them so Stefan could explain everything to her. He took her to his home back in 1864 and told her what happened between him, Katherine and Damon. Stefan then took Damon's daylight ring and told her he had to give it back to him. Worried for everyone's safety, she told him not to, but Stefan said that if he didn't, Damon would retaliate in the only way he knew would hurt him: by hurting her.

After the events of Vicki's death, Elena said to Stefan that a part of her wished she could forget meeting him, but no matter how scared she was, she couldn't lose the way she felt about him.

Deciding to talk to him, Elena went to Stefan's house and encountered Lexi, who had just gotten out of the shower. Elena asked where Stefan was, and Lexi replied that he was in the shower. Misunderstanding, Elena left. Stefan came to her house that evening and realized that she probably thought Lexi was his rebound, and explained that she was a 350 year old vampire and his best friend, who came to Mystic Falls to celebrate his 162nd birthday. He asked Elena why she came by, but she told him it was a mistake. Before he left, Stefan asked if she needed a ride to Caroline's party. Elena said she wasn't going, and told Stefan to have a good time. She later changes her mind and goes to Caroline's party where she once again encounters Lexi. Elena lightened up to Lexi and bonded with her very quickly. Lexi even encouraged Elena's feelings for Stefan, saying, “When it's real, you can't walk way.” That night, Damon killed Lexi. This caused Stefan to isolate himself from Elena, telling her she was right not to see him anymore. When Stefan made sure Elena would be safe, he tried to leave town for her safety, but Elena refused to let him leave, confessing that she loved him. Hearing her confession, Stefan kissed her. They went inside the boarding house and Stefan hid his face so she couldn't see him him as a vampire. However, Elena turned him around and caressed his face, telling him not to hide from her. They shared another kiss and spent their first night together. Later, Stefan went to go get her a cup of water and left Elena alone in his room. She 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 her phone. Stefan warned Damon to not hurt Elena and spent the rest of the day trying to find her and waiting for her to come home.

ie. When Elena came back, she angrily asked Stefan who she was to him and he assured her he did not think of her as Katherine. Upon her request, Stefan told Elena about how they had first met, and how he had saved her from the car accident. Elena wanted to know why she looked like Katherine, and Stefan answered that realizing she wasn't her, it didn't make sense for them to look so alike since Elena was a "Gil(crt" (compared to Katherine being a "Pierce"told her he looked look into her birth certificate and found out she was adopted. Stefan then comforted Elena and told her he loved her, and she made him promise not to keep secrets from her anymore.

Wanting their lives to be normal for once, the two decided 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". Elena informed Stefan of what happened and he quickly scoured the bar, but the man had already left. When he was taken and tortured by Frederick (the man in the bar), Damon sought out Alaric so they could work together to rescue him. Elena wanted to come along to save him but Damon believed it would be too risky. Despite his warning, she went inside the house with a vervain dart and was scolded by Damon. 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 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 boarding house, Stefan reassured Elena that he had gone back to normal but the memory still unsettled her. Unbeknownst to her, Stefan grew a horrible craving for human blood.

At the Founder's Day party, Elena was worried about Stefan and searched for him when he abruptly left. When she went home, she was frightened when she saw him already in her room waiting for her. He explained that his hunger for blood was now stronger than ever and confessed that he wanted to feed on someone and it took everything in him not to -- and all he could think about was to be truthful to Elena and not hide things from her like he promised. When she tried to help him, Stefan backed away out of fear of hurting her but Elena told him she wasn't afraid and hugged him. The two stayed like that for a while until Stefan went back to the boarding house. Damon greeted Stefan when he returned and whether it was because he forgot or thought Stefan was fine, left a cup of human blood on the table near him. After he left, Stefan couldn't resist the temptation and drank it.

Stefan was Elena's escort at the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant, but his craving for blood led him to become unstable, alerting Damon, who had went to tell Elena. Stefan walked in on the conversation but his attempt to assure Elena that he was fine failed. He left to go to the bathroom after Carol Lockwood rushed Elena to get ready, and broke the mirror on the wall out of frustration before getting interrupted by Amber Bradley, another contestant. He compelled her to not be afraid and took her away from the event, leaving Damon to be Elena's escort. Stefan remained confused and angry and realized the human blood was doing something to him, so he compelled Amber to be frightened and run. Unfortunately the blood still had him out of control, and he caught up and fed on her again. Before he could kill her, Elena arrived alongside Bonnie and Damon and yelled at him to stop. Bonnie brought him down with her magic, and horrified at what he had done, 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. Instead, Stefan ran and left his daylight ring behind and went to the quarry where he prepared himself to die. When Elena arrived to stop him, Stefan told her how much guilt and pain he felt for everything he'd done, and the constant craving for blood terrified him because he may not be able to control it any longer and hurt her. Elena assured him that would never happen and confided in Stefan about the night she lost her parents. She tried to convince him to not give up and put the daylight ring in his hand, saying it was his decision to wait for the sun to rise, or wear the ring and fight. She started to walk away, but Stefan called out to her and put the ring back on. He ran to Elena and the two shared a kiss.

In Season 1 Part 2, Elena met her birth mother Isobel who asked for a device that Katherine had wanted. Elena reluctantly gave it to her believing that Bonnie had removed the spell on it, but Bonnie only pretended to dispel it so she could use it to kill Damon alongside the tomb vampires. At the Founder's Day Parade, for the most part, Elena and Stefan had a good time and enjoyed the festivities before Damon arrived to tell them that the tomb vampires were in the crowd wanting revenge on the founding families. Elena asked Stefan to find Jeremy but the Gilbert Device was suddenly set off by John Gilbert. Stefan was affected alongside all the vampires and Elena, with the help of Alaric, took him to safety. Once the device stopped, she convinced Bonnie to spare Damon and helped Stefan save him. At the end of the Parade, Elena went back to school to get her clothes only to find that someone had taken them. She told Stefan this on the phone when she arrived home, and hung up after hearing a strange noise from the kitchen.

Season 2
In Season 2, Katherine returned to town and caused chaos between Stefan, Damon and Elena. At the end of The Return, Damon forcefully kissed Elena but she pushed him away and told him she loved Stefan and it was always going to be Stefan. This upset Damon and he snapped Jeremy's neck and left. Stefan arrived almost immediately and comforted Elena as she held her "dead" brother. Jealous, Katherine forced Stefan and Elena to break up by hurting Elena's family. And even after she was sealed in a tomb with a spell that prevented a vampire from escaping, Elena told Stefan that she wanted to be with him, but first and foremost she needed to wake up and know that she and her family were safe. That night, she was kidnapped and delivered to Elijah Mikaelson, an Original Vampire. Finding out she was missing, Stefan (and Damon) found Elena and rescued her, but it was soon revealed that she was in grave danger. Klaus Mikaelson, the oldest Original Vampire in the history of time, was after her to break his curse.

In the tomb, Jeremy was saved by Stefan when he attempted to retrieve the moonstone from Katherine. Stefan tossed him out of Katherine's reach and trapped himself with her in the tomb. As soon as she found out, Elena accepted Elijah's deal and asked him only one thing in return: to free Stefan from the tomb. When he was freed, Stefan reunited with Elena and the two rekindled their relationship.

Elijah had a plan to save Elena from Klaus by using an elixir that would bring the doppëlganger back to life after the ritual. However, Damon did not trust Elijah and instead forced her to drink his blood so she could come back as a vampire. Stefan rushed in and shoved Damon away from her, furious that he of all people took away her choice. He later took Elena on a hike to let her enjoy the last few hours of her life as a human, and at the end of the day, Elena broke down in tears, admitting she had no desire to ever be a vampire and because of Damon, the lifetime of choices she had were all gone. When she returned to the boarding house, Klaus was there waiting for her. Elena stopped Stefan when he refused to let her go and kissed him, telling him she loved him. She asked him to close his eyes and he did so upon her request. When he opened them, she and Klaus were gone.

Because of Damon's interference in his original plan, Klaus kidnapped Elena's aunt and used her as the vampire for the ritual. Stefan tried to take her place, but Klaus stabbed him in the stomach with a wooden stake so the wound would render him unable to do anything to save Elena.

In the finale, Elena was brought back to life by Bonnie, and in order to save her and Damon, Stefan made a deal with Klaus and left town with him.

Season 3
In Season 3, Elena desperately tried searching for Stefan despite everyone else's efforts to get her to move on. In The Birthday, Stefan called Elena and remained silent when she answered. Despite that, Elena realized it was him. “I love you Stefan. Hold on to that. Never let that go.” In The End of the Affair, she finally found him and hid in his old apartment. Stefan noticed her in the storage and saved her life by distracting Klaus, and later when they reunited, Elena tried to shoot Stefan with a vervain dart but he was faster and avoided her attack. Stefan cruelly told Elena to go home (because he needed her to be safe and away from Klaus) and distanced himself from her completely. In Chicago, Klaus went to Gloria (a witch) to find out why his hybrids weren't turning out the way he planned, and discovered that Stefan was hiding the the fact the doppelgänger was still alive. In The Reckoning, Klaus compelled Stefan to kill Elena and was surprised when he showed great strength by fighting the compulsion off and telling her to run. Unfortunately, Klaus then used compulsion one last time and ordered Stefan to turn his humanity off. He was forced to attack Elena and almost killed her. In Smells Like Teen Spirit, he goes back to school and moves back to the boarding house to stay behind and keep an eye on Elena to "guard" her for Klaus. When she distracted him by falling off the bleachers, he fell for it and saved her. They shared an intimate moment where Elena said, “I knew you'd catch me” before Alaric shot him with a vervain arrow. Together, Alaric, Damon and Elena locked Stefan up to try and restore his humanity. Ultimately, the plan failed, but Elena never gave up believing that there was hope for Stefan. In Our Town, in an effort to get Klaus to remove the hybrids from Mystic Falls, Stefan kidnapped Elena and fed her his blood, telling Klaus that if he didn't tell his hybrids to back off he would drive off Wickery Bridge so that Elena would die and turn into a vampire. At first Klaus didn't believe he'd do anything to hurt Elena, but eventually agreed to call off the hybrids. Elena jumped out of the car and furiously yelled at Stefan, asking him how he could think of driving over that bridge knowing that her parents had died and that she had almost died with them. Stefan responded saying that destroying Klaus was all he had left but Elena argued that he had her. He replied that he lost her the minute he left town with Klaus and she just hadn't admitted that to herself yet. When Elena asked if he was doing all this to make her hate him, Stefan said he didn't care what she thought of him anymore.

In The Ties That Bind, Elena confessed that she kissed Damon since she felt guilty Stefan was unaware of it. Clearly pained and stunned by the information, Stefan walked away and said nothing. Elena followed him and begged him to say something, and he apologized for what he did to her on the bridge, admitting that he went too far. But he told Elena that she shouldn't have lied about going to see Abby as it was too dangerous for her to do so while Klaus was still around. Elena understood his concern, and told him she never intended to kiss Damon. Stefan, still hurt, said she was better than both of them before driving away in his car. He then went back to the boarding house and punched Damon for kissing Elena. At the Mikaelson Ball, Elena and Stefan danced together and and shared another romantic, intimate moment. By the end of the night, she pleaded with him to feel something and he confessed that he hated himself for what he did to her, and if he let himself care, all he'd feel is pain. In the finale, Elena rejected Damon and chose Stefan, and their relationship was rekindled and lasted at the beginning of Season 4. When Elena was still human, she told Stefan that she loved him and she chose him, and no matter what happened next, it was the best choice 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 ordered him to kill Elena, Stefan fought back and refused his order until he had to be compelled again by an Original to perform the order. Klaus even commented many times on their relationship, stating, “That kind of love never dies” and “Now, that's love.” Even Katherine Pierce, who had been convinced that Stefan could love her again, finally realized that even with one night or an eternity he would never look at her the same way he looked at Elena.

Another recurring theme is their supportive and positive relationship. Even broken up the two still loved and understood one another. 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 Caroline turned off his humanity, he asked Elena to bring him back, and when they fought, Stefan said the one thing that kept him from turning it all off was her. This recurring theme also happened to Elena. When Silas compelled Elena and made her torture Damon, the only thing that could break her out of compulsion were her thoughts of Stefan. When Damon forced Elena to turn off her humanity after Jeremy's death, he was not able to help her after turning it back on while Stefan was. Many times have they also saved each other's lives. When Vicki set Alaric's car on fire, Elena was trapped inside along with Stefan, who was knocked out by vervain. She called out for him, and he woke up after hearing her voice. He murmured Elena's name and when he realized she was in danger, even in his weakened state, he used all his strength to kick the trunk door off it's hinges so that Elena could get out safely before the car exploded. The only time Stefan did not save Elena was when she asked him not to, and 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.

Novels
Elena Gilbert was the Queen Bee of Robert L. High School, the girl every boy wanted and every girl was jealous of. When she saw a guy who interested her, she got him. Elena soon met Stefan, a handsome foreigner, and tried to act cute and bubbly to get him, but was shocked when he didn't pay any attention to her. She was frustrated that one person didn't pay her any attention and made it her mission to get Stefan, solely for the purpose of having him.

Stefan Salvatore returned to Fell's Church for a fresh beginning and eventually met Elena. Guilt-ridden about what had happened in the past, he avoided her after seeing how much she looked like his former lover, Katherine. Elena and Stefan's relationship slowly developed from a simple magnifying attraction into strong genuine feelings when Elena began to connect to Stefan emotionally. After the death of her parents, Elena hid her loneliness and grief all the time, only showing it those close to her like Bonnie and Meredith. When she met Stefan, she was instantly attracted to him but after she noticed for the first time how sad and lonely he looked, in that moment, she realized that she was more emotionally involved with him. She understood what it was like to feel lost and tried to build a genuine bond with him. Elena soon found out that he was a vampire and was frightened by the revelation and tried to run, but after Stefan saved her life, she stayed and asked him to explain. Much like the show, Elena still loved Stefan despite what he was, but Stefan feared that he could hurt her and tried to scare her away for her own safety.

"(...) “You don't know what you're talking about!” He was standing rigid, his face furious, his eyes anguished. “If I once let go, what's to keep me from changing you, or killing you? The passion is stronger than you can imagine. Don't you understand yet what I am, what I can do?” She stood there and looked at him quietly, her chin raised slightly. It seemed to enrage him. “Haven't you seen enough yet? Or do I have to show you more? Can't you picture what I might do to you?” He strode over to the cold fireplace and snatched out a long piece of wood, thicker than both Elena's wrists together. With one motion, he snapped it in two like a match stick. “Your fragile bones,” he said. Across the room was a pillow from the bed; he caught it up and with a slash of his nails left the silk cover in ribbons. “Your soft skin.” Then he moved toward Elena with preternatural quickness; he was there and had hold of her shoulders before she knew what was happening. He stared into her face a moment, then, with a savage hiss that raised the hairs at the nape of her neck, drew his lips back. It was the same snarl she'd seen on the roof, those white teeth bared, the canines grown to unbelievable length and sharpness. They were the fangs of a predator, a hunter. “Your white neck,” he said in a distorted voice. Elena stood paralyzed another instant, gazing as if compelled into that chilling visage, and then something deep in her unconscious took over. She reached up within the restraining circle of his arms and caught his face between her two hands. His cheeks were cool against her palms. She held him that way, softly, so softly, as if to reprove his hard grip on her bare shoulders. And she saw the confusion slowly come to his face, as he realized she was not doing it to fight him or to shove him away. Elena waited until that confusion reached his eyes, shattering his gaze, becoming almost a look of pleading. She knew that her own face was fearless, soft yet intense, her lips slightly parted. They were both breathing quickly now, together, in rhythm. Elena could feel it when he started to shake, trembling as he had when the memories of Katherine had become too much to bear. Then, very gently and deliberately, she drew that snarling mouth down to her own. He tried to oppose her. But her gentleness was stronger than all his inhuman strength. She shut her eyes and thought only of Stefan, not of the dreadful things she had learned tonight but of Stefan, who had stroked her hair as lightly as if she might break in his hands. She thought of that, and she kissed the predatory mouth that had threatened her a few minutes ago. She felt the change, the transformation in his mouth as he yielded, responding helplessly to her, meeting her soft kisses with equal softness. She felt the shudder go through Stefan's body as the hard grip on her shoulders softened, too, becoming an embrace. And she knew she'd won. “You will never hurt me,” she whispered."

- The Awakening: Chapter 14 The two were together throughout The Awakening, The Struggle, The Fury and The Dark Reunion. They continued to be together in The Return and The Hunters trilogies. In every single novel of The Vampire Diaries, Elena and Stefan are soulmates. They are also engaged in an alternate timeline of the novel universe and ended up endgame in the original 90's Trilogy.

In the fan fiction novel series made by L.J Smith (the creator of The Vampire Diaries) Evensong, Stefan and Elena were together but broke up. However, they both still have strong mutual feelings for each other. The third book is currently still in development and many fans have hope that the couple will get back together.

Moments

 * In Unpleasantville, Elena and Stefan dance together.
 * In Children of the Damned, knowing that he wouldn't be able to come out of the tomb that is meant to trap vampires, Stefan goes in to save Elena anyway.
 * In Let The Right One In, Elena saves Stefan from Frederick and allows him to feed on her.
 * When asked to describe Elena, Stefan says that she's warm and kind, and he forgets who he really is around her.
 * In Season 1, Stefan bought Elena flowers.
 * Elena talked to Stefan about her mother as he cooked for her.
 * Stefan and Elena constantly protect each other throughout The Vampire Diaries.
 * When Stefan can't control his bloodlust after he takes Elena's 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 tries to help Stefan anyway.

TV-Series
"Well crazy or not, that kind of love never dies."

- Klaus about Stefan and Elena "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 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

"Can you hear me? (Stefan nods) Thanks for coming. I'm nervous... but I'm happy that you're here. (Elena looks at him) I love you. (Stefan mouths I love you)."

- Elena and Stefan in "Isobel"

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

- Stefan to Elena

"I love STEFAN, it's always gonna be Stefan!"

- Elena to Damon in Season 2

"Yeah. I get it. It's always gonna be Stefan."

- Damon to Elena in Season 3

"As long as Stefan is in the way, you will never be with Elena."

- Qetsiyah to Damon

"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

"I love you Stefan. Hold on to that. Never let that go."

- Elena

"Do you wanna know why I was even on that bridge? I was coming back for you Stefan. I had to choose... I picked you. Because I love you. No matter what happens, it's the best choice I ever made."

- Elena

"We have to take these moments, Elena. What Katherine did to Caroline could just be the beginning and there are things with Tyler's family that we don't even understand yet and there's always the "D" word but I came back to this town to start a life with you. We can't forget to live it."

- Stefan to Elena in "Brave New World"

"There's the girl with the necklace. You love her. You'd do anything for her and you have."

- Gloria to Stefan about Elena

"You don’t know what it’s like being in love with you. You know, when you and I were together, every single atom in my body told me that it was the right thing, that we were the perfect fit. And that kind of love, it can change your whole life."

- Stefan to Elena "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

Novels
"And then I’m going after him. Someone will give me a direction to start in. He left me twenty thousand dollars. I’ll use that to follow him. And if the car breaks down, I’ll walk; and when I can’t walk anymore, I’ll crawl. But I will find him."

- Elena about Stefan "Elena felt Stefan’s lips meet hers. And… it was as simple as that. All questions answered, all fears put to rest, all doubts removed. What she felt was not merely passion, but a bruising tenderness and a love so strong it made her shake inside. It would have been frightening in its intensity, except that while she was with him, she could not be afraid of anything. She had come home. This was where she belonged, and she had found it at last. With Stefan, she was home."

- Elena and Stefan, The Awakening "I will die before touching her, he thought, making a vow of it. Before I broach her veins, I will die of thirst. And I swear she will never know ray secret. She will never have to give up the sunlight because of me."

- Stefan about Elena "He'd come to his senses outside with Elena's scream echoing in his ears— and he had raced to her without stopping to think about what might have happened. Elena... For a moment he felt a rush of pure joy and awe, forgetting everything else. Elena, warm as sunlight, soft as morning, but with a core of steel that could not be broken. She was like fire burning in ice, like the keen edge of a silver dagger."

- Stefan, The Awakening "If every memory of Stefan were taken away from me, I would still fall in love with him the very moment I saw him. And if every memory of me were taken away from Stefan, he would wander all over the world looking for something without knowing what he was looking for."

- Elena

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."

- Bob Levy.

"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.

"For me personally I like the scene when I was ashamed to be a vampire in front of Elena. My eyes eyes were turning veiny and I was so embarrassed I kept turning away and she kept touching my eyes and being like “It's okay.” it made me- it was very emotional. I really like that scene."

- Paul Wesley Toronto Comic Con 2012. "There's no human that is closer to Stefan than Elena, I think that’s obvious, I mean.. she really accepts him and loves him for who he is and with all the sort of baggage that he brings you know, which is obviously tremendous."

- Paul Wesley. "This girl Elena is his only reason for living at this point because he doesn't really have any hope or joy. So, when he sees this girl, it's the one thing in his life that gives him purpose."

- Paul Wesley about Stefan. "Stefan is this sort of hopeless romantic and Elena, she's the love of his life."

- Paul Wesley. "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 King on Caroline. "The first couple I shipped on the show was Stefan and Elena."

- Candice King. "I think it's so beautiful that.. I mean, Elena really is Stefan's true love."

- Candice King. "Caroline is very much a Stelena shipper. I think she really has seen the reasons in which Elena has fallen for him and she sees that he can protect her and bring a good side of her out. She sees Stefan as much more protective and you know a good person to be with."

- Candice King 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.

"I think Elena's true love is Stefan. Speaking from an objective place, I really believe that um.. it’s a true love."

- Paul Wesley on Elena.

"For the Pilot and the TV Series to work, the relationship between Elena and Stefan had to be magic. I said to myself “this is phenomenal,” there is real chemistry between Paul Wesley and Nina Dobrev."

- Bob Levy.

"It’s the scene where Elena was running in the cemetery. And he’s there, out of nowhere. And the sun is just hitting him so perfectly and his eyes are so beautifully green and he’s just staring at her and she’s staring up in him… Kevin and I both went: He is our guy, oh my god he is our guy!"

- Julie Plec. "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.

"And then she meets Stefan and there is something about him that makes her feel comfortable, like he understands."

- Nina Dobrev on Elena. "And then she (Elena) meets Stefan, they have this connection that neither of them can really explain but they understand each other on another level."

- Nina Dobrev on Elena. "Between Stefan and Elena, it's just so difficult, they love each other; they can't be away from one another."

- Nina Dobrev on Stelena. "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 Stefan and Elena.

"Damon shows up and she just tenses up because something is going to happen. It's like a countdown to 30 seconds and someone is going to die. With Stefan, whenever he's around she's just—it's almost like she melts into his arms and she feels somewhat relieved."

- Nina Dobrev on Stefan and Elena.

"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 “Kiss, Marry, Kill.”

"Stefan is so good to Elena and still people for some reason go crazy over Damon."

- Nina Dobrev on the Love Triangle.

"What makes her happy is Stefan."

- Nina Dobrev about Elena. "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.

"It was this beautiful scene where Stefan takes Elena, and he picks her up and kisses her, and they go on the kitchen counter and things get kinda hot and heavy. But rather than sexualizing it, I decided to make it romantic. I pitched it to the writers — I was like ‘Guys, I think this should be romantic and not sexual,’ and they fell for it. Suckers!"

- Paul Wesley on S2x14.

"There’s a lovely scene that we do at the lake house discussing that (the reality of Elena’s mortality). Touching lightly upon it without hitting you over the head, you know what I mean? It’s really kind of beautiful."

- Paul Wesley on S2x14. "Stefan is very attractive because he is protective of Elena and he loves her unconditionally. He would do anything for her."

- Nina Dobrev on Stefan. "She (Elena) loves Stefan so, so much."

- Nina Dobrev. "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 leaving. "Stefan isn't thinking about other women at all. He's completely in love with Elena and he's doing all of this for Elena."

- Paul Wesley. "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.

"Elena made a decision last season to be with Stefan because she loves him."

- Nina Dobrev on Elena in S3. "The bottom line is that Elena as a human made a very, very, very clear choice that she would love Stefan always and forever."

- Julie Plec. "It would take a lot to rip Elena away from loving Stefan. It would take years and seasons. We’d be eighty, if we followed the natural progression of that relationship."

- Julie Plec. "I just want him 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 on Stefan.

"I'm gonna go with Stelena. Stefan went to the dark side to save her and everyone for the greater good."

- Nina Dobrev between Delena and Stelena. "I think Elena had a certain connection with Stefan that was very profound."

- Nina Dobrev S4 Interview. "Stefan is committed and loving and would do anything for her to protect her."

- Nina Dobrev on Elena and Stefan. "And.. I think Stefan is genuinely in love with Elena. Not to get sappy, but I think that counts for something."

- Paul Wesley on Stefan. "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 and Elena. "Stefan and Elena have a history. They were in love, they were in a deep love, and I just think that at the end of the day, she recognizes that."

- Paul Wesley.

"They key to Stefan and Elena is time and distance."

- Paul Wesley on Stelena. "Is she single right now? Elena is always, no matter how single she is, she’s still standing there with Stefan. They’re a couple who have conflicts and they have a big one looming. They’re starting to truly disagree about how to handle things. But no, I wouldn’t stay she’s going to stay single by any means. I wouldn’t say she’s single now. She may be arguing or disagreeing with Stefan at the moment, but I don’t think they’re too far apart."

- Kevin Williamson. "The past two years, Paul and I have been working so closely almost every day, towards the beginning of the Season 3 we had absolutely no scenes together. So that was one of the first scenes where we’re actually working together again. When we locked eyes it really felt like we were locking eyes for the first time. But nothing was said everything was in the looks, the tension was built up so much, it was palpable, you can feel the love, fear, anxiety, the memories and history between the two."

- Nina Dobrev: Elena & Stefan “Trapped in the Closet” (3x03). "I think the Elena/Stefan storyline is an integral part of the show. I think their love is infinite."

- Paul Wesley TVFanatic Interview. "The fans [of Stefan & Elena] should definitely maintain some hope. The thing to remember is that Stefan and Elena have this love that is so strong, and it was sort of the core of Season 1 - you can’t entirely disregard that. The fans should definitely be aware of the fact that Stefan and Elena are very much a possibility."

- Paul Wesley on Stelena happening again.

"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. "And I sort of thought that by the time we came back to the end of the series, Elena would find her way back to Stefan and Damon would have found a different path. But we had to write her (Nina Dobrev) out because she was done."

- Julie Plec. "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 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. "ONE MILLION percent... I would go for Stefan and Elena."

- Ian Somerhalder on "Stelena or Delena?" "I feel like she has high morals. She loves Stefan and it's always been Stefan."

- Nina Dobrev on 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.

"What I sparked in the show, which made it very deep and personal, was Elena. She had just lost her parents. She was like this.. walking dead person. She felt dead inside. And along comes Stefan, who you know literally IS dead and looking for a way to come back to life. And these two people, these two souls, that were really, you know, out of breath, found each other and learned to breathe again. They fell madly in love. And from that this epic love story was born."

- Kevin Williamson.

"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 Vampire Diaries Finale. "Eternal."

- Paul Wesley on Stefan and Elena's love. "She needs that sort of consistent love and protection and that's what Stefan gives to her."

- Nina Dobrev on Elena and Stefan.

"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 Season 6 Interview.

"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 (In 2022)

Official
Cut | Plumb

Gravity | Sara Bareilles

A Drop In The Ocean | Ron Pope

Stay | Rihanna and Mikkey Eko

Thinking Of You | Katy Perry

Never Say Never | The Fray

Medicine | Daughter

All This Time | The Republic

Wires | Athletes

Down | John Walker

You Do Something To Me | Sinead O' Conner

Wait For The Morning | Amy Stroup

Longest Night | Howie Day

Found | Christel Asos

Give Me Love | Ed Sheeran

Fanon
Stelena is the most popular ship in The Vampire Diaries fandom, second only to Delena. 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 the undeniable chemistry between Stefan and Elena, but also because of their relationship dynamic. Stefan is deep and understanding, but has trouble controlling the dark part of himself, while Elena is compassionate and kind. Stefan and Elena 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, which made them very endearing to fans.

Fans also thought that had Elena never turned into a vampire and been sired to 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 fandom. 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 ship besides Klaroline and Delena. It is the second most written ship for Elena and the number one for Stefan. It is Elena's second most popular ship, and Stefan's first.

Fandom

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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.
 * In an alternate timeline of the novel series of The Vampire Diaries, Elena is engaged to Stefan and they are soulmates.
 * Stefan is a Scorpio and Elena is a Cancer. Astrologically, they are very compatible.
 * Legacies Ben Levin ships Stelena and posted a photo of him (as Stefan in The Vampire Diaries Musical) and Kaylee Bryant (as Elena), and tagged Stelena on Twitter multiple times.
 * Candice King said Caroline truly wanted Stefan and Elena to be together.
 * During a Q/A in 2018 at Chicago Comic Con, Paul Wesley said after watching Season 1 again he shipped Stelena.
 * 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.
 * Stefan and Elena's most popular songs are Cut, A Drop In The Ocean and Gravity.
 * Paul Wesley directed 5x18 where Stefan and Elena are married.
 * Stefan has only referred to Elena as his true love.
 * Kevin Williamson said that the story of The Vampire Diaries is about Elena and Stefan who fell in love and brought each other back to life.
 * Nina Dobrev posted a Stelena edit 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, Arielle Kebbel, Shaun White, Danielle Rose Russel, Kaylee Bryant and Ben Levin.
 * Ian Somerhalder prefers Stelena over Delena.
 * The original ending of The Vampire Diaries would've been Stefan and Elena ending up together had Nina Dobrev not left the show on Season 6.
 * Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley are both Team Stelena and have supported the couple throughout the entire show.
 * “Stelena” is the first and only ship name to ever be said on the show.
 * Ron Pope signed an autograph for a fan: “I'm praying that Stelena will end up together” referencing his song A Drop In The Ocean that was played during Stefan and Elena's first scene in Season 3.
 * Paul Wesley's favorite scene from the entire series is when Elena and Stefan rekindle their relationship in The Turning Point, and when Elena got to see the vampire side of Stefan.
 * Nina and Paul have supported Stelena ever since Season 1. 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 Wesley. During his birthday, she posted a picture of them with the caption “Happy birthday to my [only] Stefan [forever].”
 * In the Season 6 promotional poster for The Vampire Diaries, Stefan and Elena are holding hands.
 * Paul Wesley described Stefan and Elena's love as “Eternal.”
 * After the last episode of The Vampire Diaries, Nina Dobrev posted a picture of her and Paul Wesley and tagged it #Stelena.
 * Legacies Writers official Twitter account referenced a Stelena episode and song in their tweet on April 8, 2022. Legacies Writers also liked a Stelena tweet.