Why Does Nina Dobrev Have a Cane? Details About Her Harrowing Ordeal

In the spring of 2024, actress Nina Dobrev endured a life-altering accident.

Now, she is walking with a cane — and at times, with crutches. Fans have also seen the star, who dates professional skateboarder and snowboarder Shaun White , being pushed in a wheelchair. What exactly happened to Nina?

The ordeal started when the Vampire Diaries star got into a crash with her dirt bike.

In July 2024, Nina confessed that she has taken months to recover in the aftermath of the accident. Read on to find out what the extent of her injuries are as well as her prognosis.

So, why does Nina Dobrev have a cane, crutches, and a wheelchair?

In May 2024, Nina confessed she had a "long road of recovery ahead" after her accident.

Then in July, with Nina and Shaun arriving in Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics , she updated her fans on what she'd been through the past few months via an Instagram video .

“Three months today marks my first and last time on an electric dirt bike,” she says, going on to share the horrific extent of her injuries.

“After losing control and crashing the bike — and a not-so-quick hospital visit — I found out that my ACL had completely torn off, my meniscus was torn through, and I had a fracture in my tibial plateau," Nina elaborates. "Not ideal.”

Nina's video shares sobering and shocking footage of her recovery, from right after her accident, through her surgery, physical therapy, and having to learn how to walk again.

"I decided to share my experience in the hopes that it helps others in the same situation find comfort or at least know what to expect on the long road to recovering from a torn ACL, meniscus, and in my case, also a tibial plateau fracture," she captioned the at times tough-to-watch montage of scenes.

"It sucks. I’m not gonna sugar coat it," she admits in the caption, going on to say in the audio that not only was the recovery full of physical pain, but emotional challenges as well. "I'm a very independent person," Nina says, adding that without her friends and support team, she wouldn't have made it through.

Nina shares that she has made a lot of progress, and ultimately can see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Shaun White has been a huge source of support for Nina after her accident.

In addition to Shaun appearing in Nina's video chronicling her recovery, Shaun also shared some photos and video from the couple's trip to Paris, including a moment where he carried Nina up hotel steps on his back.

Fans were obviously won over by the sweet gesture, with one commenting, "Give this man an Olympic medal for carrying Nina up the stairs."

"Couple goals," someone else enthused.

The couple has been together since 2019, with Shaun telling People about his girlfriend in 2021, "Nina's incredible. What an influence on my life. Not only does she run her own show, her own world, companies she's involved in, things she's producing, all this stuff going on. She holds me to this same high standard which is so wonderful to have in a partner."