Paul Wesley says Steroline never should’ve made it out of ‘Vampire Diaries’ writers’ room

Steroline fans might have some feelings about this one.

Former Vampire Diaries costars — and current Brothers Bond Bourbon founders — Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder appeared on the latest episode of Hot Ones Versus to discuss everything from their time on the long-running CW drama to their 15-year friendship (and Somerhalder’s dance moves).

The chat starts with a bang when Wesley is asked to choose “one storyline you think should’ve never made it out of the writers’ room” on The Vampire Diaries. Wesley’s response: “After Nina [Dobrev] left the show, they were like: We need to pair Stefan with some romantic partner and then Stefan and Caroline [Candice King] ended up having a wedding and getting married, right?”

Somerhalder chimes in to say, “It was a little forced but it was cute,” to which Wesley agrees, “It was cute.”

Wesley is of course talking about his character, Stefan’s, second big love story, the first being the one that launched the series between Stefan and Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev), which would then evolve into one of TV’s most-debated love triangles.

As he mentions, Dobrev, whose character was dating Damon (Somerhalder) at the time, left the show after six seasons, and although the foundation for Stefan and Caroline — better known as Steroline — had been laid for a while, it’s in season 6 that they finally kiss and embark on their own love story.

The show then continued on for two more seasons after Dobrev’s exit, and in the eighth and final season, Stefan and Caroline tied the knot.

King, however, might not agree with Wesley’s thoughts. As she previously told Entertainment Weekly when discussing Steroline and Klaroline (Klaus and Caroline), “I liked the slow burn of Caroline and Stefan. When I watch TV, those are the slow-burn relationships that I am usually rooting for.”

Watch Wesley and Somerhalder’s entire chat below.