Gossip Teen

Ian Somerhalder and Nina Dobrev spent Saturday afternoon together at the 2011 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California.

The Vampire Diaries twosome has played it pretty shady about their off screen relationship however they spent their time on the grass with Joshua Jackson and Diane Krueger while checking out various bands at the annual music fest that is absolutely overrun with celebs and paparazzi.

There were no obvious signs of coupledom – no kissing or hand holding – and they were clearly aware of the photographers (who wouldn’t be) but it certainly appears they have taken their on screen chemistry off screen as well.

Somerhalder appeared on Live with Regis & Kelly recently and when asked told the chat show hosts his girlfriend was “The Vampire Diaries.”

Dobrev covered Teen Vogue in April and gave close to a flat out denial saying: “We expected the rumors,” she says. “Like, if I wasn’t dating Ian, I’d be dating Paul [Wesley]. A lot of people who work together end up dating, so it wouldn’t be unusual, but I’ve never dated anyone I’ve worked with.”

If the two are dating, they’ve come pretty darn close to outright lying and if they’re not, well then they’ve gotten great publicity out of it all. (There have been tweets from people who’ve seen them together on Valentine’s Day and around Atlanta where TVD is filmed and a photo of the two taken at Christmas time.)

Everyone is entitled to their privacy, and if they are dating and want to keep it to themselves, that’s fine – but why choose to answer those questions in such a way that looks duplicitous in the end?

Either way – they certainly are hot together, that’s for sure!

What do you think? Happy they are together? Angry at how they’ve addressed it? Neither?

More photos of the two are below (and yes, Ian is misidentified by the photo service as Tom Welling). 

[images: Winning/WENN.com]