Ian Somerhalder debuts new gf right after Nina Dobrevs bf debut: coincidence?

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About five people cared that Nina Dobrev was maybe dating another one of her Vampire Diaries’ costars, werewolf Michael Trevino, after her high profile romance with Ian Somerhalder. So I don’t expect a ton of interest in this story but that’s not going to stop me from trying. Right about the same time the tabloids were reporting that Nina was involved with Michael, we’re hearing that Ian Somerhalder is dating a former American Idol top 50 contestant named Molly Swenson. The above photos of Michael and Molly are about seven months old, which means it could be getting serious. The two were spotted holding hands on a date recently and E! has an insidery report about all their recent outings. Molly is more accomplished than the title “ex AI contestant” might indicate. She’s a Harvard graduate who used to work for the Obama administration and is currently the chief operating officer of a news activism site called RYOT News. Ian is on the board for the site. Here’s more:

Hunky actor Ian Somerhalder was spotted stepping out to some events in Los Angeles last night alongside a female date that E! News has identified to be Molly Swenson. The Vampire Diaries star and his lady friend first stopped at the Details Magazine party at 41 Ocean in Santa Monica.

Somerhalder and Swenson weren’t overly affectionate but remained close the entire night, an eyewitness tells E! News, and the celeb made sure to introduce her to everyone that came by to chat.

After the mag event, the pair went off to a cocktail party hosted by Treats! magazine honoring cover star Dylan Penn at the legendary Beverly Hills home of James Goldstein.

A source tells E! News that Somerhalder arrived around 11 p.m. with three other people. “Ian got off the golf cart, and was wearing a leather jacket and his hair was tousled underneath a cap. As he was walking towards the steps of Club James, he was greeted by two people from the event who introduced himself. They shook hands with Ian smiled, and began ushering the group inside.”

The source added, “Two of Ian’s friends were in front and Ian and his date were following closely behind casually holding hands. They seemed happy, casual, and enjoying the evening.”

Although the twosome seemed close (and have posed for Instagram pictures together in the past), E! News learns that Swenson is the COO of a production company called RYOT News, which Ian is on the advisory board for, along with Olivia Wilde and Sophia Bush.

[From E! Online]

This “source” was pretty conveniently timed to pull focus from the news of Nina Dobrev’s new romance, which makes me put more stock in that earlier story. I get the impression that Ian still has feelings for Nina and that she was the one to call it quits. Still, whatever is going on with him I like that he’s dating someone who isn’t famous. He’s super pretty and he seems to have a decent head on his shoulders. I want to hear more about this romance!

"Noah" New York Premiere

'Noah' New York Premiere

PaleyFest 2014 The Vampire Diaries presentation

Photo credit: WENN.com

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