‘The Vampire Diaries’ season 5 spoilers: A new friend to Nina Dobrev’s Elena

Over the past few weeks, the rumor mill has burned strong with talk of Elena Gilbert getting a new love interest on “The Vampire Diaries” season 5 … otherwise known as someone who would cause a great deal of trouble for a certain Damon Salvatore. These two are starting off the season happy, and introducing another man into the mix is something that could of course shake things up and ruin the romance.

Well, as it turns out there is not going to be a new love interest at all; instead, this new character in Aaron is simply going to be a friend instead. While this may be good news for Damon, executive producer Julie Plec claims to Entertainment Weekly that the character could still be just as much of a threat to Ian Somerhalder’s character, just because of jealousy that is largely misplaced due to his own insecurities (which vampires apparently still have):

”…Though it is just a friendship, it’s one of those deep friendships that could be seen as threatening to boyfriends. But we thought it would be a really great opportunity to bring a new person into Elena’s life who would legitimately be somebody who could fill a void of a lot of the friends and relatives she’s lost over the years, somebody that really gets her in addition to her Salvatore boyfriend.”

While we’re sure that this will be polarizing for many fans we like the idea of there being someone new in Elena’s world that she can lean on, and could give her advice without overwhelming her with their own problems. Caroline has a lot on her plate already, Jeremy isn’t in college, and Bonnie is … well, a ghost that only Jeremy can see.

What do you think about this idea? Be sure to click here if you want to see a myriad of new photos from this season, featuring all of the characters that are now series regulars.

Photo: The CW