People's Choice Awards 2014: Ian Somerhalder Kisses Nina Dobrev Onstage, Jokes About Split

Ian Somerhalder gave his former girlfriend and Vampire Diaries co-star Nina Dobrev a kiss on the cheek while accepting their award at the 40th annual People's Choice Awards held at Nokia Theater in Los Angeles.

The 35-year-old actor, who plays Damon Salvatore on the television show, to Dobrev's Elena Gilbertand won the award for Favorite On-Screen Chemistry.

This comes after the couple's real-life breakup last year.

Somerhalder and Dobrev have kept their relationship largely private and only acknowledged it publically in 2011.

"Can you believe this almost five years in the making?" Somerhalder said while accepting the award.

"You're right, yeah. But you know what's crazier though Ian?" she replied. "At the beginning of the show, Elena actually hated Damon."

"We started dating in real life," he said.

"And then we broke up in real life," she added.

"And yet our characters are still dating on the show," he continued.

"It's a good thing it's not awkward... Well it's a good thing we've got chemistry!" she concluded.

At the event, Dobrev turned heads in a back sequined figure-hugging Jenny Packham dress and teamed it up with a Raowulf clutch. She completed the look with Charlotte Olympia shoes and Kara Ross jewels. Meanwhile, Somerhalder looked dapper in a Z Zegna suit, and added it with Stronghold jeans and Diesel boots.

Previously, Dobrev, in an interview with Seventeen magazine, said her priority had always been to maintain professionalism at work.

"I didn't want to be dating one of my costars -my goal on the show was to be professional," she said then, "But sometimes you can't help who you have a connection with, and you can only fight it for so long -which I did for a really, really long time."