Stefan Salvatore

""You've helped me feel things that I never thought I would again.""

- - Stefan to Chris

Stefan Salvatore is one of the two main male protagonists of The Vampire Diaries. Stefan was a 171-year-old vampire and was born and raised in the supernatural town of Mystic Falls, Virginia and came of age during the time of the Civil War. Stefan is the youngest child of Giuseppe Salvatore and Lillian Salvatore. He has an older brother, Damon Salvatore, who is also a vampire and whom he shared a strained relationship with, stemming from the appearance of Katherine Pierce in which they fought over whilst human.

He is best friends with Lexi Branson until her death, and eventually becomes best friends and married to Christine Meade whom he has a son, Alexei Salvatore, with. He is also close friends with Bonnie Bennett, Caroline Forbes and his ex-girlfriend, Elena Gilbert.

Throughout the series, outside forces threaten those he loved and what he most desired: a normal, human life.

Stefan is a member of the Salvatore Family.

Early Life
Stefan Salvatore was born on November 1st, 1846, on Veritas Estate in what would eventually become the town known as Mystic Falls, Virginia. He is the youngest child born to Giuseppe Salvatore and Lillian Salvatore. He is the younger brother of Damon Salvatore. In 1851, when Stefan was five years old, during a Thanksgiving dinner in the Salvatore Estate with his parents and brother, his father confronted Damon about money that was taken from his bureau, believing his oldest son to have been the thief. Young Stefan witnessed as his father burned Damon's hand with a lit cigar as both a punishment for lying and stealing. Unknown to Stefan, it was actually his mother who took the money, trying to flee from her husband with her sons. Damon mentions that in October 1852, he broke Stefan's nose trying to teach him how to throw a right hook. In 1858, his mother Lillian became very ill with tuberculosis (also known as consumption). Deciding not to spend any time with her while she was ill, he instead did whatever he could do to avoid her, such as walking into Mystic Falls and getting the tea she liked or picking out her favorite flowers. Whereas he pretended that he was doing it for her, Stefan was actually in denial about her impeding death and in fact, was afraid to see her in such a sick and grave condition. Sometime later, Giuseppe sent her away but then ended up dying. Stefan mentions that he would have given anything to have spent one more day with her before her death. Flashbacks show that Stefan felt extreme guilt for the death of Lillian. Giuseppe had sent Stefan to retrieve a remedy to help with Lillian's illness. Stefan felt guilty because he felt that he did not retrieve the remedy fast enough before Lillian was then sent away to a TB ward where she ended up dying. Unknown to Stefan, she ended up turning into a vampire. The death of his mother was something that Stefan never got over and he never really moved on from her absence. Stefan was very close to Lillian as a child, so much that Damon himself even referred to Stefan as being a "mama's boy". It's strongly indicated that Stefan was Lillian's favorite son and that between the two brothers, Stefan was the son she shared a closer bond and relationship with. After his mother's passing, Stefan lived with his father and his brother Damon. Stefan is seven years younger than Damon. Despite the semi big age difference between the two brothers, Stefan grew up to be the best of friends with Damon and had even said that Damon was his best companion, despite having other friends growing up since his childhood. Going by flashbacks, it is evident that Stefan was also Giuseppe's favorite son, and that Stefan had a rather close and good relationship with his father, the complete opposite of Damon, who appeared to have had a rather strained and tension-filled relationship with Giuseppe. Personality wise, Stefan was seen to be kind, caring, compassionate, introverted, intelligent, well-spoken, responsible, dutiful, noble and an overall respectable young gentleman.
 * -|Human Life=

One day In 1864, Stefan was fixing a broken carriage when a man who was riding a carriage carrying Katherine Pierce and Emily Bennett had stopped to talk to him. This is when Katherine had first seen Stefan and described that she was instantly drawn to him and attracted to him. When Stefan had first met Katherine, when she and Emily had come to stay at the Salvatore Estate, he had become strongly attracted to her and eventually had fallen in love with her, as did his brother Damon. However, despite Damon's feelings for Katherine, it seemed to be evident that the younger Salvatore was Katherine's preference as it was Stefan that she had asked to escort her to the Founders Ball. One night, Stefan and Katherine had spent a passionate night together. Another night, Stefan and Katherine were spending a passionate night together when she suddenly bit Stefan. It was during that time when Stefan and Katherine were making love that Katherine revealed her true identity to Stefan and that she was a vampire. It is unknown if Katherine had compelled Stefan to forget after she had bitten him. The next morning after their passionate affair, Stefan awoke with a bloody wound on his neck, and the previous night slowly returned to him. He was clearly frightened of her, saying that her face resembled that of a demon and also told her to get away from him. To calm him down, Katherine compelled him to not be afraid of her. After hearing of the town's plan to kill the vampires, Stefan went to see his father Giuseppe and unintentionally hinted to him that he knew of vampires staying in Mystic Falls when he suggested that vampires might not be as bad as they are made out to be. During this conversation, his father tricked Stefan and drugged his alcoholic drink with vervain. When Katherine went to see Stefan that night and bit him so that she could feed on his blood as a form of foreplay, the vervain within Stefan's blood had poisoned and incapacitated her. Stefan was confused, worried and concerned about what was happening to Katherine and could not understand why Katherine appeared so sick and weakened all of a sudden. Giuseppe, hearing Katherine collapse, entered Stefan's room. He then told Stefan that he had tricked Stefan and had put vervain in his drink after Stefan had asked his father how he knew about Katherine and other vampires existing because "he did not raise his sons to be so weak. Giuseppe than urged Stefan to let the sheriff know that they have another vampire in Katherine captured and for him to go the sheriff as quickly as possible. Giuseppe then set in motion Katherine's capture, which corresponded with a town-wide vampire round-up. Later, finding out what had happened with Katherine being captured by their father, Damon was extremely devastated and furious with Stefan, as Damon had made him promise not to tell their father about Katherine. Damon ended up blaming Stefan for Katherine's capture although it was not ever Stefan's intention on hurting or betraying Damon and outing Katherine.
 * -|1864=

As a result of indirectly betraying Damon, Stefan felt extreme guilt for unintentionally being responsible for Katherine's capture and promised Damon that he would do everything he could to help Damon get Katherine back. They then planned a course of action to get around the guards who were on watch for the vampires, and eventually made it to the cage where Katherine was being held captive. They got Katherine out of the cage, but as soon as they were ready to escape with her, Damon was shot by an unknown person. Shocked and overwhelmed with grief to see his brother dying, Stefan picked up a gun to shoot whoever had shot his brother, but before he could do so, Stefan was also shot directly in the chest. He slowly lost consciousness as he watched Katherine, who lay on the ground nearby, still weakened by the vervain. Once Stefan died, Katherine returned to Stefan's body and let him know that she loves him.

The next morning, Stefan woke up confused and dazed. He searched for his gunshot wound but found he had been healed, and noticed that he was a wearing an unfamiliar, large silver ring, with a deep blue stone and the Salvatore family crest with the letter 'S' on it. Emily Bennett then approached Stefan and told him that Katherine had her make that ring for him (and Damon) weeks before. She explained everything that had happened since he was shot: she had found him and Damon lying dead in the woods, brought them to the quarry, and he and Damon were now transitioning into vampires. Stefan, confused, wondered how that was possible if he had never drunk Katherine's blood, but Emily confessed that Katherine had compelled him for weeks to drink her blood, while Damon drank from Katherine willingly. Stefan soon approached Damon, who recounted seeing the townspeople dragging Katherine into the church and setting it on fire. The two discussed their options, and both brothers seemingly agreed to die without transitioning, as neither one wanted to be a vampire without Katherine.

Later in the evening, Stefan began to notice that he had heightened senses, including super-hearing. He overheard his father and Johnathan Gilbert discussing the vampires being captured and destroyed, and that his father wanted to keep secret that his sons were vampire sympathizers, preferring they be known for dying nobly and bravely in the fight against the vampires. After Johnathan had left, Stefan went inside to talk to his father one last time, who was shocked to see that Stefan was "alive." Stefan wondered aloud to his father that even in their death, he still felt ashamed of his sons. Giuseppe retorted with disgusted disapproval that their mother would have been extremely disappointed in her sons, were she alive to see what they had become. He then confessed to Stefan that he was the one who had shot and killed both him and Damon, shocking Stefan.

Stefan then told his father that he had not fully turned into a vampire yet and that he was choosing to let himself die instead of drinking human blood. Not taking any chances, Giuseppe tries to stake and kill Stefan. Underestimating his new-found vampire strength, Stefan threw Giuseppe against the wall, causing him to accidentally be stabbed by the wooden stake in the stomach. Overwhelmed and shocked, Stefan tried to help him, but Giuseppe refused him, disgusted by what Stefan was becoming. When Stefan pulled the stake out of his father's stomach, his bloodlust became too much for him to suppress and he tasted his father's blood, completing his transition into a full vampire.

Stefan then went to meet Damon, who had also planned to let himself die. He told Damon about how amazing it felt to be a vampire, that it was a gift; how he could willingly turn off his emotions, the pain and the guilt. Stefan had compelled a young woman to go with him to Damon, where he convinced his brother to become a vampire by drinking her blood. Damon initially refused, but Stefan would not relent, saying he couldn't let him die. Eventually Damon drank the girl's blood and told Stefan that he was right, that it felt like a whole new world being a vampire. Stefan hoped this meant they could be brothers and companions together forever, but instead Damon promised Stefan that he would make Stefan's life miserable for the rest of eternity.

Weeks after he was newly turned and still lacked control of his bloodlust, Stefan went on a rampage, killing members of the Founding Families out of revenge for what they had done to Katherine. One member was Johnathan Gilbert, though he later came back to life with the help of his Gilbert Ring. Stefan continued on a blood-drinking bender to try to make the guilt and pain of what he had done to Damon and his father go away. He compelled young women to go home with him, so he could toy with them and feed on their blood. When Damon found Stefan like this, he was upset by his brother's uncontrollable behavior and compelled all of the women to leave and to never come back. Damon tried to convince Stefan to control his bloodlust and moderate his behavior, but could not get through to Stefan until he announced he was leaving town. Desperate to keep his brother in his life, Stefan begged Damon not to leave, that he promised he would do better. Damon showed no sympathy for his brother's pleas and left, saying he would not let Stefan get them both killed, and that he would leave him to do that to himself.

One night, Stefan went to a camp where the war-wounded lay, and discreetly fed on their blood. It was there that he spotted a girl in the shadows and tried to attack and feed on her. Instead, she drove Stefan to the ground and turned out to be another, much older vampire by the name of Alexia Branson. Lexi needed a place to stay, so Stefan brought her home with him, where she found corpses drained of blood lying everywhere. Lexi told Stefan that he was a Ripper, and that there are good parts of being a vampire and there are bad parts, and that he was the bad parts. Determined to change that, she later walked with him through the camp where they had met, asking him how he felt about the suffering war victims. Stefan told her that he felt emotionally numb, that he felt nothing. She then explained that he felt nothing because he had managed to turn off the part that makes him feel, the human part of him; that in spite of the intensified pain and suffering vampires feel, love is what makes life worth living. Over the course of many decades, Lexi became Stefan's mentor, best friend and companion, and she showed Stefan the 'good parts' of being a vampire; how to live compassionately and reclaim the caring, empathetic person Stefan had been as a human. From 1864 to 1912, Stefan lived on a strict animal blood diet and no longer fed on human blood.

In 1912, Stefan returned to Mystic Falls to attend the funeral of his half-nephew, Zachariah. It was there that Stefan saw Damon for the first time in almost fifty years. Damon initially had no desire to rekindle any brotherly relationship with Stefan, but Stefan convinced Damon to join him for a drink, saying he had missed him.
 * -|1912=

Later, while at a boxing ring, Damon tried to persuade a very resistant Stefan to have a drink of human blood with him again, selecting Marianna Lockwood and luring her away from the crowd. Stefan fed on her, but quickly lost control of himself and accidentally ripped her head off, astonishing both of them. Out of extreme guilt and remorse, Stefan irrationally apologized and tried to put her head back onto her body. Stefan, angry with Damon for forcing him to drink human blood, refused Damon's offer to help him learn to control it, then ran off into the woods. Damon watched him go, concerned for his brother's well-being, though not enough to pursue him. After drinking human blood in 1912, Stefan fell off the wagon and returned to his former Ripper lifestyle.

Klaus revealed that Stefan had become notorious for his horrific killing sprees, including the massacre of an entire migrant village in Monterey in 1917, after which he became known among the vampires as the "Ripper of Monterey".
 * -|1917=

After he left Mexico, Stefan traveled to Chicago in 1922. It was there that he frequented a particular speakeasy, and one day caught the eye of a beautiful blonde vampire, Rebekah. She initially resisted his interest, but not long after that, they became romantically involved.
 * -|1922=

Stefan eventually met Rebekah's older half-brother, Nik. At first, Nik disliked Stefan because of his relationship with Rebekah. As time went on, however, they bonded over their similar family histories, as well as Stefan's penchant for petty cruelty toward humans, and became best friends who enjoyed each other's company immensely. The three of them frequently partied together at the speakeasy, enjoying booze, blood and dancing all night long.

On one such night of revelry, the club was attacked by what appeared to be the police. Discovering that the police were using wooden bullets, Stefan realized they knew there were vampires inside. He sensed Rebekah's panic when she responded cryptically "He's here," but before he could find anything out, Nik compelled Stefan to forget about him and Rebekah. Unbeknownst to Stefan, Katherine was in the club while the police were searching it; she spotted Rebekah's necklace on the floor and went to pick it up, but fled when she heard Stefan approaching. He in turn saw the necklace and picked it up, observing it carefully. A detective then approached him, showed him a sketch of Nik and Rebekah and asked if he had ever seen them before. Stefan told him what he believed to be the truth: that he had never seen those people before in his life.

In April of this year, Lexi found Stefan again, "dragged him off the train tracks" and started to help him recover his humanity and get off of human blood. According to Stefan's journal entries, it took the better part of a decade to do so; around 1935 he still felt cravings for human blood, but it was getting easier, and by the 1940's, still under Lexi's guidance, he continued to make progress with his rehabilitation.

Before he left for the war, Stefan, at Lexi's insistence, sought out his brother Damon in New Orleans in order to make amends with him. He approached his brother in a bar, and after an initial skepticism, Damon welcomed the reunion and seemed glad to have Stefan back in his life after thirty years apart. After Stefan told Damon about his plans to join the war effort as an ambulance driver, Damon proposed spur-of-the-moment that he could join Stefan. Unknown to Stefan at the time, Lexi talked Damon out of leaving with Stefan, citing his profligate lifestyle and how Damon's behavior would not be good for Stefan's rehabilitation. She seemed to be proven right when, after Charlotte had brought a bleeding victim back to the bar, Stefan started to lose himself at the sight and smell of human blood. Lexi's interference proved instrumental in the brothers' long estrangement, as Stefan left for the North African campaign believing Damon had abandoned him yet again.
 * -|1942=

As the elections for a new president go under way, a lady is walking alone through an alley, Stefan appears and attacks her, biting her and drinking her blood, he lets her go alive and compels her to forget everything, then a woman who seems to know everything about vampires appears and she knows who he is, she knows he is the brother of Damon Salvatore, who she is looking for. Stefan asks who she is and she tells him that her name is Maggie James, Stefan advised her to stay away from Damon as he is lost by his comportment, she confesses that she is looking for Damon only to kill him because he is a monster, so Stefan decides to attack her but only to scare her and leave the town.
 * -|1960=

Stefan returned to Mystic Falls this year along with Lexi. Stefan asked Lexi to go to New York City to help Damon get his humanity back and to get his act together.
 * -|1977=

He was in Chicago with Lexi at a Bon Jovi concert, which unbeknownst to them was Katherine watching them from afar.
 * -|1987=

In the Pilot, Stefan mentioned that the last time he saw Damon was sometime in the 1990s, 15 years prior to the Pilot. It's revealed, that the brothers met again in May, 1994, when Stefan came back to Mystic Falls to be with his great nephew Zach. Damon, who didn't see Stefan for nearly 50 years, and has had his humanity switch shut, claimed he wanted to go straight and narrow. Stefan, who knew that Damon had sent Lexi flowers to apologize for leaving her to burn on a rooftop 17 years earlier, reluctantly let him back into his life. He thought Damon was living on animal's blood until he saw bite marks on the wrist of Zach's pregnant girlfriend Gail. It turns out Damon had weaned Zach and Gail off their vervain and didn't consider feeding on his relative and a pregnant women bad, since he was keeping it all inside the house. Stefan had snapped his neck and had taken him to the shed of the boarding house, where he could take off his daylight ring, gave him time to cool off, and berate him for always ruining his life. Damon, who just missed his little brother and wanted him to go off on a road trip with him, snapped. That's when he killed all the people at the party, including Gail. He promised Stefan an eternity of misery—resentment for Stefan turning him into a vampire so he wouldn't be alone, but then not wanting to be the kind of vampire Damon became and left him all alone. Damon them left his brother. Stefan was able to compel Zach to forget about Gail and the deaths, but he couldn't hide the body count. Stefan then took Gail to the hospital, and all though the doctors couldn't save her, they saved her baby girl. He then made sure that the baby was adopted right out of the hospital by a great family, who named her Sarah Nelson. Stefan left town right after, and looked out for Sarah all her life, without Damon knowing anything, so he wouldn't jeprodize her life with the supernatural world.
 * -|1994=

Personality
As a human, Stefan was compassionate, kind, noble, honorable, intelligent, athletic, responsible, academic, dutiful, and a gentleman. He was definitely seen as the 'Golden Boy' and he had the admiration and respect of the entire town of Mystic Falls and most of all, of his father Giuseppe. Stefan was also seen to be ambitious and studious and he desired to become a doctor during his human life and this was his profession or career of choice before he was turned into a vampire against his will. In his human years, when it came to love and romance, Stefan was liked, admired by and popular with women. He was seen to be chivalrous, gallant, romantic, well-mannered, courteous and polite, traits which made Katherine Pierce fall deeply for the younger Salvatore.
 * -|Human=

In regards to Katherine, Stefan was much harder to get and challenging unlike Damon, who persistently chased and pursued Katherine as much as possible. Unlike Damon, Stefan had a very close relationship with his father Giuseppe and Stefan was Giuseppe's favorite son. Stefan was also close with his mother, before she had died when he was 10 years old. Before turning into a vampire in 1864, Stefan was seen to be happy, optimistic, light-hearted, playful, mischievous and naive. He was also seen as athletic, dutiful, respectful, intelligent, scholarly, noble, chivalrous and even-tempered. Stefan was very close to his older brother Damon growing up. Although Stefan was very popular and had many male friends during his human life, Stefan always considered Damon to be his best friend and companion. Stefan was also a bit idealistic when it came to love and romance, even naive at times. This is evident in Stefan when he very quickly and easily became infatuated and fell in love with Katherine Pierce, which is evidence of his youthfulness, naivety and simplicity as a regular teenage human. Although Stefan was only 17 years old, he displayed maturity, responsibility and had a wisdom beyond his years. Because of this, Stefan always seemed to be much older than his actual age.

As a vampire, Stefan's personality became increasingly complex. Much of Stefan's personality as a human transcended into his vampire personality, although his basic human traits became significantly more heightened. Although Stefan became increasingly darker by nature due to his vampire nature, he still retained the same basic personality traits that he had as a human. As a vampire, Stefan was described as mysterious, brooding, inscrutable, intense, kind, caring, empathetic, compassionate, loving, affectionate, heroic, noble, selfless, brave, intelligent, protective, and loyal. On the dark side, Stefan can be incredibly self loathing, self-destructive, addictive, guilt ridden, martyring, unpredictable, melancholic, self-righteous, naive, secretive and judgmental. Since he turned in 1864, Stefan had always had trouble controlling his blood lust, that has often become a major problem for him throughout the course of his immortal life.
 * -|Vampire=

Because of his blood addiction, Stefan was a certified "blood-a-holic" (which is a term coined from alcoholic by Caroline). When Stefan consumes copious amounts of human blood, his entire attitude seems to change. When Stefan gives into his blood lust, Stefan was unstable, volatile, unpredictable, rash, reckless, careless and can become highly destructive. The "ripper" side of him usually causes him to push people away and become emotionally cold, withdrawn and distant. When Stefan lets his blood lust take over, (this was because unlike his older brother Damon, Stefan never learned how to control, his thirst for human blood), he often shuts off his humanity and his emotions to block out his suffering, guilt and pain. After he was newly transformed into a vampire, Stefan was seen to be extremely dependent towards Damon. This was not the case when Stefan was a human. When Stefan was a human, although he and Damon were very close, Stefan always had an independent personality. Stefan's dependence on Damon due to his newborn vampire-ism and heightened emotions was example by a time right after he transitioned and then persuaded an unwilling Damon to complete his own transformation into a vampire.

Although Stefan was initially optimistic and happy that he and Damon were going to spend eternity together, Damon had shattered Stefan's optimism and hopes when Damon told Stefan he promised him a lifetime of misery. Over a century later, in the episode Rose, Stefan apologizes to Damon for betraying him and admits that he was selfish by getting Damon to complete his transition. That he did not want to be alone because he just wanted his brother by his side forever. There was a large part of Stefan and who he is deep down in his core that cares deeply and strongly for his own humanity as well as humankind. Stefan had a strong respect for humans and a strong regard for human life. Because of this, Stefan often feels immense guilt and remorse if he hurts, harms or kills a human. As the powerful witch Emily Bennett had once told him after Stefan had transitioned into a vampire, Stefan's heart was pure and good. This was what had caused most the self-loathing and brooding which had become deeply associated with Stefan's personality.

When Stefan was at his best, he was extremely caring, loving, helpful, understanding, selfless, empathetic, and compassionate. He did not like to see others suffering or in any kind of pain, whether it be physical, emotional, spiritual or mental. Stefan can be very wise and comforting to others and people can always depend on Stefan. Stefan likes to give advice, help people, and comfort others who need comforting and support. Stefan was always willing to lend a helping hand when it is needed most and he will put the needs of others before his own. He was always willing to save people, especially those who need saving the most at a particular time. He was the kind of person who tries to protect and save everyone at the same time. Stefan was also highly honorable, noble, brave, courageous, altruistic, and selfless, especially when it comes to the people he loves and cares about.

One of the most heroic, selfless acts Stefan has ever committed is to give up his entire life in Mystic Falls, including his values, morals, and his devotion to his own humanity in order to save the life of his beloved brother (Damon) when he was dying from a fatal werewolf bite. When it seems appropriate, Stefan can be very fun-loving, upbeat and humorous. He was particularly practical, charming, playful, mischievous and humorous around his close friends (such as Lexi or Caroline, for example) or people who he knows. He can sometimes be somewhat sarcastic or display a dry, sarcastic wit. His best friend Lexi often brought out the more fun, light-hearted, playful side of Stefan's personality. Stefan was usually one to shy away from dancing, because he thinks that he was a bad dancer, but admits that he was much more enthusiastic about it when he was drunk or under the influence of alcohol.

Stefan was charismatic, charming, passionate and deeply romantic and because of this, he is highly magnetic to and popular with the opposite sex. He had a very selfless, idealistic approach to love. Stefan was known to be respectful, polite, courteous, and chivalrous towards women. Because of this, Stefan had always been popular, admired and loved by the opposite sex or women since his human life. He almost always respects women's (namely Elena) choices and decisions, even if he doesn't agree with them. This is especially shown with Elena, but also with Caroline and Bonnie in particular. His deep, strong love for Elena Gilbert has highlighted how his values and outlook on life have significantly changed since he was human and how deep, affectionate, understanding and loving he can truly be. Elena's own compassion and kindness are very important to Stefan. He was often very tender, loving and gentle towards Elena but he was also extremely passionate about her. Stefan had also proven many times, that values such as respect, honesty and trust are very important to him when it comes to romance, love and relationships. Stefan often emphasizes the importance of free will, freedom, liberty, choice and respecting one's decisions.

Damon Salvatore
""Whenever you go too far, I will be there to pull you back, every second, every day till you don’t need me.""

- - Damon to Stefan Damon is Stefan's older brother. As humans, they were very close- best friends up until the arrival of the beautiful Katherine Pierce. After Katherine's "death", Damon swore to make Stefan's life miserable and ultimately succeeded in 1912 by making him lose control of himself fifty years later. Before season one, the brothers had not seen each other since the early 1990s; their relationship having taken a steep turn for the worse- their relationship was described as "violent and bitter". Through the seasons, both fell in love with Elena and whilst she was the factor bringing them together, she has also been the biggest strain in the brothers' complex relationship. In the season three finale, Stefan was heartbroken at Elena's choice, but he also admitted that he was happy for Damon. Through this, they have proven just how far their relationship has grown from their violent past. Whilst their relationship will continue to be tested through highs and lows, it is clear that the two share a strong brotherly bond.

Elena Gilbert
""Thank you for bumping into me that day in the hallway. I never thought I could be happy again and then I met you. You changed everything for me. You... you quite literally saved my life. I love you so much.""

- - Elena to Stefan Elena is the ex-girlfriend and close friend of Stefan. When Stefan returned home to Mystic Falls after many years, he unexpectedly "met" Elena on May 23, 2009, after he heard Elena and her parents' car accident while he was out at Wickery Bridge. The Gilberts' car had submerged deep into the water under the bridge, where Elena and her parents were facing death by drowning. It was then that Stefan miraculously saved Elena's life, but was unable to save Elena's parents, Grayson and Miranda, who did not survive the tragedy. Elena fatefully meets Stefan for the first time at the beginning of the new school year outside of the men's washroom. Elena is undeniably drawn to Stefan and the two have an instant, deep and indescribable connection. Stefan and Elena begin to bond and slowly start to develop a romantic relationship. They both realize that they share many qualities, hobbies, traits, values and beliefs in common. As Elena and Stefan start falling deeper in love with each other, Elena discovers Stefan's deep, dark secret: Stefan is a century old vampire with a mysterious past. Although Elena is initially afraid of Stefan and what he is, she gradually accepts Stefan's vampirism. Stefan ended their relationship in Season 4 when she revealed that she was in love with Damon. Despite everything that's happened, they still care about each other deeply and are supportive of one another.

Katherine Pierce
""Stefan, I love you, I've always loved you.""

- - Katherine to Stefan Katherine fell in love with Stefan when she met him in Mystic Falls in 1864. Although she was also seeing Damon, she had a clear preference for Stefan. Stefan, in return, was thoroughly infatuated with her and believed he had fallen in love with Katherine. As their relationship progressed, he discovered her vampiric nature and became frightened of her. Katherine had then compelled him to not be afraid of her and after she faked her death. Over the century, Stefan came to believe his love for Katherine was never real and she had simply compelled him to love her. Katherine disputed this and insisted both of their feelings were genuine, she had only compelled him to not be scared of her. Stefan remained in denial of her claims, and stated that even if Katherine was right, all of his love had turned to hate. After Katherine returned to Mystic Falls in the 21st century, Stefan and Katherine became one-sided bitter enemies for some time, mainly due to their conflicting actions regarding Elena. Stefan viewed Katherine in disdain and rejected any attempt she gave for him to see her positively. Although he appears to care for her, he still cannot forget her past deeds.

Caroline Forbes
Caroline and Stefan at first had no close relationship. After she became a vampire, Stefan saved her from Damon and promised her that he would never let anything happen to her. Since then, Stefan has been taking care of Caroline like her mentor, helping her to be a good vampire. He has saved her several times and cares about her. Caroline told him that every time he feels he's about to lose control she will be there for him. Their relationship has intensified to the point of being best friends. Caroline has given Stefan pivotal emotional support to the point where they now have a great friendship. Caroline has always supported his relationship with Elena and she was the person who revealed to Stefan that Elena was sired to Damon. By Caroline, Stefan also learned that Elena had had sex with Damon. Upon learning about Bonnie's death, Stefan told Caroline that he would always be for her as she has always been for him, as Caroline helped Stefan with all his problems lately. After Lexi's, she is his best friend.

Ophelia Meade
""I did love her...only I realized it too late for it to matter. She had already moved on.""

- - Stefan to Chris about Ophelia

Stefan and Ophelia met when they were children in the the 1800s in Mystic Falls, Virginia. According to Stefan, him and Ophelia started a courtship in 1874 when they were 10 years old. The flirtation ended with Katherine Pierce's arrival to Mystic Falls in 1864, though they remained friends. Stefan admits to Christine that he did, in fact, love Ophelia, but he realized it too late after Ophelia had already moved on and got married.

Christine Meade
Chris and Stefan started off as acquaintances when him and Elena started dating. Having been close to Chris's doppelganger, Ophelia Meade, Stefan starts to help Chris with finding out more about her family.

Lexi Branson
""Your love life is almost as messed up as your relationship with Damon.""

- - Lexi to Stefan In 1864, Lexi met young and new vampire Stefan Salvatore when he tried to feed on her, as he was unable to distinguish his kind from human. Discovering that Stefan was a ripper- meaning he only fed and hunted and has lost his humanity, Lexi took it upon herself to help Stefan regain his humanity by not turning his feelings off, where she succeeded eventually. Lexi found Stefan, now back to his ripper ways in April 1922 before getting him off human blood around 1935. They would spend every birthday of his together, once attending a Bon Jovi concert. Lexi returns to Mystic Falls for Stefan's 162nd birthday, trying to renew her relationship with Stefan. On that night, Damon frames Lexi for the death of a local boy and the police apprehend Lexi. She is later staked by Damon and dies before she can attack the sheriff and/or reveal his secret.

Other Relationships
Salvatore Family, Meade Family, Mystic Falls Gang, Mystic Falls High School
 * Silas and Stefan (Enemies/Ancestor)
 * Stefan and Lily (Mother and Son/Frenemies)
 * Stefan, Katherine, and Damon (Former Love Triangle/Enemies/Frenemies)
 * Stefan, Elena, and Damon (Former Love Triangle/Former Allies)
 * Stefan, Elena, and Chris (Former Love Triangle/Former Allies)
 * Stefan and Bonnie (Former Close Friends/Former Allies)
 * Matt and Stefan (Former Friends/Enemies)
 * Tyler and Stefan (Friends/Former Allies)
 * Alaric and Stefan (Friends/Frenemies/Former Allies)
 * Stefan and Elijah (Frenemies/Former Allies)
 * Stefan and Klaus (Friends/Frenemies/Former Allies/Were Partners in Crime)
 * Stefan and Rebekah (Ex-Girlfriend/Friends/Frenemies/Former Allies)
 * Stefan and Meredith (Friends/Former Allies)

Behind the Scenes

 * The casting call for Stefan was: "A gloriously, amazingly, epically beautiful young man, elegant and ageless, he appears to be 17 or 18, but he’s really a 200-year-old vampire who has come to Mystic Falls in search of Elena. Stefan is poised, polite and reserved but easy to talk to, and intense sparks fly between him and Elena, who share the experience of having lost their parents…"
 * The casting call noted that Stefan was 200 years old, in the series, he is only actually 167 years old.

Name

 * Stefan is a masculine first name of Greek origin 'Στεφανος (Stephanos) meaning "crown", "garland", or invested with a "crown of martyrdom". In turn, Stephen or Stefan comes from the Greek word "στέφανος", meaning "wreath", "crown", "honor", "reward", literally "that which surrounds or encompasses".
 * Stefan is a very common name in Serbia.
 * Salvatore means "savior" and is of Italian origin.

Trivia

 * Stefan was the very first main character heard and introduced in the series.
 * Though if counting A Darker Truth, Vicki is really the first character to be introduced.
 * Stefan is the narrator of the series. It is Stefan who is telling the story and the story is from his point of view; "For over a century, I have lived in secret; hiding in the shadows, alone in the world. Until now. I am a vampire. And this is my story..."
 * Stefan is the main male lead of the series and the deuteragonist of the series. Elena is the main protagonist and Damon is the tritagonist.
 * Stefan became a vampire before Damon.
 * Stefan was born on Veritas Estate in Mystic Falls, Virginia.
 * Stefan's birthday is November 1.
 * Stefan's astrological sign is Scorpio.
 * Stefan is right handed.
 * Stefan is an introvert. Damon, on the other hand, is more of an extrovert.
 * Stefan describes himself as a loner and doesn't feel that he always fits in.
 * Stefan is seven years younger than his brother Damon.
 * Stefan was blonde as a child.
 * Stefan's mother Lillian Salvatore died when he was a child; he was about 10 years old.
 * Movies: Stefan's likes F. Scott Fitzgerald, especially his masterpiece The Great Gatsby; Seinfeld; I Love Lucy is his all time favorite, Loving cup episodes are the best; Scorsese, Taxi Driver.
 * Stefan enjoys listening to music by: Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson, Kanye West and he even likes one of Miley Cyrus' songs.
 * Stefan loves literature and loves to write, especially in his journal.
 * As it appeared in Pilot, Stefan seems to have a journal or diary for every year, recording all of the events and memories from each year in a journal. Stefan had even written in a journal during his Ripper phase during the 1920s.
 * Stefan is very quick, intelligent and has an excellent memory. He absorbs information very easily and is able to memorize events and dates at the top of his head as seen in The Night of the Comet
 * Stefan enjoys reading, studying and literature. He is a big time bookworm.
 * Stefan enjoys doing crossword puzzles.
 * Stefan's car is a red 1963 Porsche 356B Karmann Coupe.
 * Stefan owns a Harley motorcycle.
 * Stefan was engaged to a girl named Rosalyn Cartwright before he met Katherine.
 * Stefan was an aspiring doctor during his human life. Interestingly enough, Elena is also an aspiring doctor as well.
 * Stefan's favorite color is blue.
 * Stefan plays and owns a guitar.
 * Stefan is highly sentimental and likes to keep objects and souvenirs from his past as memories. Because of this, Damon has referred to Stefan as a "pack rat".
 * Stefan wears his lapis lazuli daylight ring on the middle finger of his right hand. Damon wears his daylight ring on the middle finger of his left hand.
 * Stefan loves football and is very good at it. He played the position of wide receiver on the high school football team.
 * Stefan is an excellent cook.
 * Stefan owns his own IMac desktop computer.
 * Stefan also owns his own typewriter.
 * Stefan speaks four languages fluently: English, Italian, Spanish and French.
 * Stefan has a tattoo of a rose on his right shoulder.
 * Stefan was his father Giuseppe's favorite son.
 * Stefan was supposed to be the one to take over the Salvatore family business from Giuseppe when he turned 18.
 * According to Damon, Stefan got straight A's and had attended many ivy league schools. He attended Harvard during the 1970's.
 * Stefan had a horse during his human years named Mezzanotte, which means "midnight" in Italian.
 * In the Pilot, Caroline says that she found out that Stefan is a Gemini, but this must be false information since his real birthday is in early November, which makes his sign a Scorpio.
 * In the earlier seasons, Stefan had an Samsung Galaxy SIII.
 * Stefan's cell phone number is 404-358-4345.
 * Stefan often drinks alcohol to help curb his blood cravings.
 * Stefan's aliases and nicknames include Stefan Pine, Shady Stefan, Silent Stefan, Stef, Ripper of Monterey, Scholarly Stefan, Savior Stefan and Saint Stefan.
 * In the novels, Stefan was named after the first Christian martyr, St. Stephen.
 * Stefan's name is a variation of the masculine name Stephen.
 * Stefan's name means "crowned" or "crown of martyrdom". Ironically, Stefan is known to be the heroic character on the series who is a martyr and is constantly willing to sacrifice himself for those he loves.
 * Stefan died when he was 17 years old in human years, he transitioned into a vampire between 7 October and 27 October 1864, just a few weeks shy of his 18th birthday.
 * Although Stefan's Diaries: Origins seems to suggest that Stefan was turned or transitioned into a vampire on September 25, 1864, slightly over month shy of his 18th birthday. However, the events in Stefan's Diaries are not canonical and do not apply to the show's timeline.
 * Stefan's childhood and best friends during his human life were named Ethan Giffin, Brian Walsh and Matthew Harnett.
 * Stefan seems to love literature by William Shakespeare.
 * Stefan helped both Damon and Elena's transition into vampires. In regards to Damon, Stefan got Damon to feed on the blood of a barmaid by biting her neck and tempting Damon to drink. In regards to Elena, Stefan brutally killed a guard by bashing his head against the bars so that Elena could gain access to blood to complete her transition.
 * In both the show and the novels, almost all of the main female characters have displayed a romantic interest in Stefan.
 * In the novels, Stefan loved Katherine for many centuries and was horribly saddened and grief-stricken over her "death". However, on the show, Stefan only loved Katherine before finding out that she was a vampire and before she had betrayed himself and Damon. He later shares an antagonistic relationship with her.
 * Stefan on the show has had many love interests throughout the course of his life (both human and vampire). However, in the novels, Stefan has only claimed to have been in love twice in his 500 years of existence; first with Katherine and then with Elena.
 * Katherine and Elena have both claimed to love Stefan first.
 * Katherine chose Stefan over Damon, while Elena has chosen Damon over Stefan.
 * Stefan is the only known vampire that seems to be able to live completely off of an animal blood diet. He has most likely chosen this lifestyle due to his past issues with blood addiction.
 * Canonically, Stefan has been shown to be a Ripper four times: once after he was newly turned in 1864, another time during 1912 to the 1920s, recently in 2010 and again on Christmas Day, 2017.
 * Stefan has been forced to become the Ripper by Klaus in the last episode of season 2, As I Lay Dying.
 * Stefan and Damon's brotherhood and relationship is often compared to and mirrors Klaus and Elijah's relationship. In this scenario, Stefan is often compared to Elijah and Damon is compared to Klaus.
 * In The Last Day, Stefan confesses that he has climbed Mount Everest.
 * In 1912, it is revealed that Damon and Stefan had a half-brother.
 * Stefan is the first vampire to be bitten by an unsuccessful hybrid.
 * In 1912, Stefan was living on a strict animal blood diet, controlling his urges for human blood. That was until Damon had asked him to drink human blood with him and feed on Marianna Lockwood, an distant ancestor of Tyler Lockwood. During his feed, Stefan was so overcome with severe bloodlust, that he fed to much and her head fell off. Afterwards, Stefan was shocked, appalled and disgusted with what he had just done, felt extreme guilt and remorse and tried to put her head back on. After that experience, Stefan had relapsed into his Ripper phase again and became the well-known "Ripper of Monterey".
 * Stefan's last name in the show was originally going to be "Whitmore" because it sounded American. Although, it was kept as "Salvatore" instead, which is Stefan's surname in the novels and Italian for "Savior".
 * In the novels, Stefan is born in during the Renaissance period in the fifteenth century in Florence, Italy. On the show, Stefan is born in the nineteenth century period during the Civil War era in Mystic Falls, Virginia. He is roughly 350 years younger than his novels counterpart.
 * Stefan's ethnic background on the show is half-French (from his mother) and half-Italian (from his father). However, in the novels, Stefan is of full Italian descent.
 * Stefan in the novels speaks fluent Italian but is also fluent in English. He is able to learn new languages at an increased speed and adjust to the American customs rather quickly, so much so that his Italian accent becomes less strong.
 * In the novels, Stefan is born in Italy and is foreign with an Italian accent at the beginning of the series. On the show, Stefan is born in America and is therefore, Italian-American and has no Italian accent.
 * In the novels, Stefan is Catholic and has a strong sense of faith, morals and values. On the show, Stefan is shown to be particularly non-religious.
 * In the novels, Stefan's best friend is Matt Honeycutt, who is the novel counterpart of Matt Donovan. In the show Stefan's long time best friends is Lexi Branson and after she dies, his new best friend is Caroline Forbes.
 * In the novels, Stefan and Damon have never had a close relationship since their childhood. However, on the show, Stefan and Damon were best friends since their human lives and became rivals later on.
 * In the books, Stefan's mother died a few years after Stefan was born, but on the show, Stefan's mother died when he was about 9 or 10.
 * Stefan played the position of wide receiver on the high school football team, both on the show and in the novels.
 * In the novels, Stefan dates Caroline but then eventually dislikes her. On the show, Stefan and Caroline were best friends. She had promised to stop him going over the rails, supports his relationship with Elena and later, Christine. She was considered his "new Lexi".
 * In the novels, as humans, Stefan and Damon fight to the death with a sword. But on the show, their father Giuseppe is the one who kills them by a gunshot wound.
 * In terms of his characterization, Stefan is often compared to other mysterious, brooding vampires such as, Edward Cullen from Twilight, Angel (Angelus) from Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Louis de Pointe du Lac from Interview With The Vampire.
 * Stefan has jet black, wavy hair and emerald green eyes in the book series.
 * He, Damon, Katherine and Caroline were all bitten by a Werewolf or a Hybrid and were all cured by Klaus' blood.
 * It has never been revealed or shown if he ever turned someone into a vampire before the series.
 * Stefan is the only character amongst the main trio that has never killed Alaric.
 * Stefan and Damon are the only main characters who have appeared in all episodes.
 * Even though she chose Damon in Season 4, Stefan was still in love with Elena.
 * In No Exit, Katherine breaks Stefan's car in effort to get him in a hotel and seduce him.
 * Stefan was 10 years old when his mother died, he was told by his father not to cry at her funeral. However, Damon told him he was allowed to cry.
 * All of Stefan's girlfriends who were main or recurring characters on the show were administered vampire blood to heal them.
 * Katherine was healed of a knife wound by Rose and hung herself.
 * Christine was healed of vampire bites by Stefan
 * Elena was healed of a cerebral hemorrhage by Meredith with Damon's blood and died of drowning.