Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder split

It's over between Ian Somerhalder and Nina Dobrev.

The actors, who play Elena Gilbert and Damon Salvatore on the CW series "The Vampire Diaries," have ended their off-screen romance after dating for several years, People confirmed Thursday.

Dobrev, 24, and Somerhalder, 34, first went public with their relationship in 2011, according to Us Weekly, which quotes an "insider" as saying the two are "consummate professionals" who will "continue to work together and remain best friends, which is where the relationship started."

Last fall, Dobrev spoke to Seventeen magazine about her relationship with Somerhalder. "I didn't want to be dating one of my costars -- my goal on the show was to be professional," she admitted. "But sometimes you can't help who you have a connection with, and you can only fight it for so long -- which I did for a really, really long time."