'The Vampire Diaries': Nina Dobrev denies to admitting Ian Somerhlader pairing

For quite some time, many people have assumed as though Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder are dating -- and many outlets have even gone so far as to proclaim them together despite the fact that they rarely actually talk about it publicly.

So where is the source for all of this? Really, we have to trace it back to a November story from Us Weekly entitled "Ian Somerhalder and Nina Dobrev: Why We Love Each Other." However, the "Vampire Diaries" actress tells Nylon in its new cover that this was pretty much all one big misunderstanding:

“I remember that interview ... They asked us, ‘What do you love about your co-stars?’ And we said, like, 10 different things about every single person on the show. But they’ll choose what they want to write about. And it’s fine — people have that fascination. I can’t say I’m not interested in Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt and their family. But it’s something you fight really hard to persevere and keep private.”

 What is more mysterious to many at this point is that status of Dobrev and Somerhalder's characters on the hit CW show -- who despite kissing on two occasions, seem to still be keeping their distance from each other.

Can you understand the need for privacy with something like this?