Originally appeared on E! Online
Nina Dobrev suffered more than physical injuries from her electric dirt bike accident months ago.
The "Vampire Diaries" alum detailed the emotional toll from the May crash, sharing how the lengthy recovery time for her ACL and meniscus tears as well as a broken knee left her feeling in a difficult place with her mental health.
"With the pain meds and the physical pain that you're going through and not being able to walk and seeing everybody gallivanting across Europe on Instagram, enjoying the summer and I'm sitting in bed," Dobrev told E! News during the Shiseido Blue Project Beach Clean-Up at the 2024 US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, Calif., Aug. 7. "It was just mentally, it was really challenging. Even the pain meds mess with your head."
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The 35-year-old continued, "I definitely was in a depression. I had a really hard time."
After all, Dobrev and boyfriend Shaun White are known for being a fairly active couple. So it was jarring for it all to come to an end so quickly on her first-ever electric dirt bike ride.
The Olympic snowboarding champion continues to support the actress throughout her recovery and recently accompanied her on a trip to Paris to watch the 2024 Olympics.
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"I've never ridden before, and it was going fine for a while. It was right at the very end, I just lost control of the bike, and I ended up in a wheelie," she recalled. "I landed on one leg, and the pressure of the landing snapped my knee."
Now, post-surgery, Dobrev plans to stay away from dirt bikes — and many other riskier activities — as she focuses on her recovery.
"I feel like I have a fear now," the Perks of Being a Wallflower alum explained. "I used to be so adventurous and down to do anything. And now, since the injury, maybe it's because I'm still healing and it's a nine-month process. I'm only on month three-and-a-half of nine months. I’m still having to relearn how to walk and so the idea of getting back to the snowboard or getting on a dirt bike ever again is definitely not happening."
She has been staying active as much as she can, walking with the help of a knee brace. And this includes making the trip to Huntington Beach, Calif. and partnering with Shiseido, World Surf League and WILDCOAST to help raise awareness about using ocean-friendly products such as Shiseido sunscreen.
And she credits her "incredible support system" for keeping her spirits up throughout her recovery. "So many of my friends came over, brought flowers, brought food, watched movies with me. Gave me neck massages. Took care of me," she said. "And so it really helped pull me out of that funk."
As for how the duo are all these years into their romance? "Things are going good," she gushed. "We’re very happy."
