Snowboard legendShaun Whiteis still laughing about the ego check he experienced the first time he went to dinner with actressNina Dobrev, shortly before the two began dating in 2019.
“I actually didn’t know anything about her,“White— arguably the world’s greatest snowboarder — tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue.
“The place was packed,” recounts White, 35, who is currently hoping to qualify for the 2022 Winter Olympics — his fifth and final — in Beijing. “And she was like, ‘Let me go see if I can get a table.’ "
Shaun White and Nina Dobrev.Nina Dobrev/INSTAGRAM
He smiled knowingly when the woman began to blush, and remembers thinking to himself that Dobrev probably told her, “There’s an old gold medalist over there who wants a table.”
When several members of the restaurant staff appeared, the legendary athlete walked over to the group, confident he knew exactly what they wanted.
Shaun White.Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
“Can we get a photo … withher?” White remembers one of the waiters asking. “And I was like, ‘What’s happening? What’s going on?’ It was actually really funny.”
Before long, the two began dating, trying to juggle time together in the midst of their busy careers. “We were flying all over,” says White. “She’s an actress so she’s shooting movies, doing press and all these things, and I’m getting ready for competition, doing interviews and appearances.”
Shaun White.Theo Wargo/Getty
“We went to the hardware store bought a bunch of paint, and brushes and definitely got in over our heads, but it was really fun,” he says, insisting that he knew the actress was special when their two dogs — Steve, a French bulldog, and Maverick, her border collie Australian shepherd mix — became pals. “Steve has a bit of an attitude, but they get along amazingly. So it was really meant to be.”
The relationship, adds White, has continued to grow.
“Nina’s just been so supportive and so amazing through this whole process for me,” he says. “Through the pandemic, she was a lifesaver — she really made that time in my life special.”
To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, visitTeamUSA.org.Watch the Winter Olympics, beginning Feb 3, and the Paralympics, beginning March 4, on NB
source: people.com
