Nina Dobrev Makes Her Dream Of Swimming With Tiger Sharks Come True!

Actress Nina Dobrev and her Olympic gold medal-winning boyfriend Shaun White took to Instagram on Wednesday morning to reveal that they recently went swimming with sharks!

The "Love Hard" star has always been a fan of sharks, but she got real about just how important shark conservation really is in the caption of her post.

In the caption of the post, “The Vampire Diaries” alum wrote, “❤️? TIGER SHARKS ?❤️.”

“if you’ve been following me for a while you know how much i love free diving with sharks,” she explained. “i used to be afraid of them until i got into the water to try to get over my fear. That’s when i realized how uninterested in humans they are.”

Nina explained that she’s been in the water “with so many different kinds of sharks” but it’s always been a dream of hers to swim with Tiger Sharks. Now, she finally got her chance!

“The Bricklayer” actress revealed that there were three tiger sharks in the water when she went swimming. She said that Roxy, a 14-foot tiger shark, was “especially friendly.”

“notice we’re not in a cage. notice how calm the sharks are,” she wrote. “they’re not aggressively swimming or trying to bite or attack us. that’s because they are peaceful misunderstood creatures. they’re portrayed in media as vicious killers, but they’re quite the opposite.”

“in fact, recently there have been shark killing competitions in the United States - in Florida, Alabama etc. Humans are hunting and brutally murdering these beautiful sharks who are minding their own business. For what?” she asked. “For sport, prize money and bragging rights.”

Nina wrote, “It disgusts me,” adding, “It makes me so sad to see their corpses washed up on the sand after they’ve been thrown back into the water to drown. WE (humans) are the vicious KILLERS.”

“Tomorrow in Alabama there is another shark killing rodeo targeting the great Hammerhead shark. Which is a critically endangered species. HOW IS THIS LEGAL?” she demanded. “this needs to stop now.”

She also called out companies like Coca-Cola, Chevrolet, iHeart Radio, and Yamaha Music for “sponsoring these horrible inhumane events.”

She called it “embarrassing” and “disgraceful,” adding, “these are massacres and this trophy hunting devastates a population of sharks that’s already on life support.”

“A lot of companies may not even know about the sharks, but I just saw Coke responded they’re NOT pulling their sponsorship or taking a stand,” she added. “shame on you @cocacola.”

“We NEED sharks to have a healthy ocean. If we continue to do these shark killing competitions they will be extinct soon and the ocean will die,” she concluded. “And we NEED the ocean because it makes 70% of the oxygen for US to breathe. Sit with that.”

In his own Instagram post, the retired snowboarder described his own “amazing encounter” with tiger sharks in a series of photos in his Instagram carousel.

“I never would’ve imagined jumping in the water with Tiger sharks…But my girlfriend got in first so I was forced to man up and get in too,” he joked.

“I’m so glad I did. this experience completely shattered the preconceived notion about sharks being vicious killers,” he continued. “They were so calm and peaceful. I was so sad to learn that sharks are being hunted for sport. They need to be protected, not killed.”

Many fans agreed and thanked the couple for using their platform to highlight important issues.

“I fully agree with everything! Sharks are not only important to keep the oceans healthy, but they also have a large impact on other species,” one fan wrote. “Sharks are the so called ‘Keystone Species’ and without them, the balance in nature would be completely destroyed and many other marine and land animals will be endangered and might even become extinct. It is devastating to see so many beautiful creatures being killed.

Another follower commented, “so glad you and nina are using your platforms for important things like this ? you two are the biggest inspirations in my life and i’m so glad i have amazing people like you guys to look up to.”