I remember when the first unofficial pictures of 'Nian' emerged in 2012, in Paris. They looked so beautiful, so perfect together. I envied Nina. It was difficult not to, when she had everything. What made it worse was that I was going through something very painful in my own personal life, so...while other Delena fans oohed and aahed over Nian, I never really could. I didn't mind looking at pictures of them and stuff, but even that was hard sometimes. I told myself that at least it was good for the show and for DE, and I just hoped that Nian would be a couple for a long time.

Today, no longer envious of Nian's love, I just feel extremely sad. I don't tend to follow celebrity gossip much, but I have to say something about Nian and Delena. I know the two are not connected, but for other fans, they were. They even had a name - 'Delenian'. Should the Nian break-up have an impact on the show, or on Delena? No, but it seemingly has. Now I want to make this clear: I am NOT hating on Ian or anything like that.

Various entertainment sites would have us think that the break-up between Nian has left Nina and Ian in a bad place, and while we should never completely believe what they say, even if it's not true, then it's bad because it casts them both in a negative light. But in interviews Ian has given recently, he seems unable or unwilling to talk about either Elena or Nina. Sure, he'll still talk about Delena - but it's not the same. In an interview for MTV News he talks about Candice, Kat and Bamon...but not Elena. link

"Kat and I actually have amazing chemistry on set and on the show because we share the same acting coach...So there's a lot of weird, awesome, secret communication between Kat and I as actors.
And actually, probably one of the reasons why you don't see Bonnie and Damon together very much is because I don't think the powers that be want there to be much of a Damon and Bonnie storyline, or chemistry, because it takes away from what I guess is supposed to be, or what people think is supposed to be, which is this whole Damon and Elena thing. I'm excited for Damon and Bonnie to have a relationship that is super-layered and heavy."

Can I just reiterate: I AM NOT HATING ON IAN. But he DID say these things, and we have to deal with it, and also maybe work out why he said them.
I felt completely crest-fallen after I'd read this. I felt angry. I felt hurt. I felt betrayed. I felt sad. Is it any wonder that the Bamon fans can read this and be like "Yes! He's on our side!"? One Bamon shipper wrote that Ian's 'contempt for Delena just shines through.'
I highly doubt that Ian is 'contemptuous' of Delena - in the same interview, he also says that he thinks Seasons 1 and 2 were the best, (and in my opinion, Seasons 1 and 2 had some of the best DE scenes ever.) Now, you might not agree with me, but I suspect Ian is trying to distance himself from Delena and there could be many reasons for that. It might be because of Nina. It might be because DE fans don't support his new relationship with Nikki Reed and have been very vocal in their dislike on social network sites. It might be because he feels weird now that his ex makes up one half of a (very big) TV ship. It might be because he doesn't want to give people the impression, in case anything good he does say about Nina will be taken the wrong way, and make them think they're getting back together. Whatever the reason, I think it's becoming more and more clear that Ian doesn't feel comfortable talking about Delena, or at the very least, doesn't want to give them glowing reviews. Unfortunately, he's ultimately letting DE and Bamon fans alike think that whatever negative thing he says about DE is a reflection of his hostility toward Nina. In Bamon's case, he's also feeding into whatever prejudices they already have about Delena and Elena and Nina, and thereby making them believe that 1) their ship will happen now and 2) that Ian ships Bamon and 3) that Ian never shipped/liked Delena anyway and 4) that 'Nian' was just a big PR stunt to make DE fans excited etc. I think Ian wants to divert people's attention away from DE. How? By talking about Bamon.

Ian and Kat don't have any weird stuff going on between them, and they share the same acting coach, so it's almost inevitable that Ian will feel happier and more at ease talking about Bamon and Kat, than he does talking about DE and Nina. You could even argue that by writing a Bamon friendship into the story has helped to take some pressure off Ian and Nina, if indeed things are so very bad (so they don't have every scene together). That's not to say that Ian ships Bamon or wants them to happen as a couple - although at this stage, if he were to say that, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised. One thing I do know - Ian IS right about one thing - if Bamon were to actually happen at this point in the story, after everything, then yes, it would take away from what is 'supposed to be', and that's the 'whole Damon and Elena thing'. The 'Powers That Be' are right about that.