'The Vampire Diaries': Ian Somerhalder spills on Damon's compelling new 'girlfriend'

"The Vampire Diaries" star Ian Somerhalder sent fans all a-Twitter when he recently tweeted a photo of himself, co-star Matt Davis, and upcoming guest star Dawn Olivieri with the caption, "Damon, Damon's new girlfriend, and a very excited Alaric in the Salvatore House."

Legions of fans either rejoiced or panicked at the idea of Damon having a girlfriend, so when we caught up with Somerhalder at a recent Warner Bros. photo shoot in L.A., we made sure to get all the scoop on the newest woman in Damon's life.

Relaxing in his dressing room after a long day of photo shoots and interviews, Somerhalder was happy to spill the details on the character - hotshot reporter Andie Star. Yes, that's really her name. Andie Star.

"I love saying her name!" Somerhalder says. "Damon's kind of proud of it. There's a line where Alaric comes to the Salvatore house, and Andie's sort of leaving after the walk of shame, and she's obviously got a little scarf around her neck because Damon's been munching on her. Alaric is sort of blown away, and Damon goes, 'Andie Star, Action News.'"

You heard right. There's a reason for the scarf in that photo he tweeted. If it reminds you of the scarf Caroline (Candice Accola) wore to cheer practice in Season 1, it's for good reason. Damon's relationship with Andie will echo his relationship with Caroline, in that really, he's compelling her through the whole thing -- and using her as a blood source.

Yes -- after an emotionally exhausting few months, Damon will go back to getting his O-neg fix straight from the source, instead of from a blood bag. It doesn't hurt that she's a beautiful woman, who isn't in high school... or in love with his little brother.

"Kevin [Williamson] said, you know, people in Mystic Falls are going to start questioning. Damon's this sort of, very eligible bachelor, this upstanding citizen in town - 'upstanding' - and people are going to start questioning if he never has a date," Somerhalder says. "She's kind of his beard. His sexy-ass, journalist beard. It's really cool, because Damon, the way that these characters are written, it's just really funny and witty, when they fire back at each other."

Damon's relationship with Andie isn't only about keeping up appearances, though. Surely you remember when he told Elena (Nina Dobrev) that he loved her, and promptly erased her memory of the entire thing. Apparently, he enjoyed the opportunity to express himself without consequence, because he's at it again.

In the much buzzed-about upcoming bathroom scene that we spoke with Somerhalder about when we visited on his birthday, a new side of Damon is revealed. (No, girls, not that side. This isn't HBO.)

"I remember reading the script going, 'Really?" Somerhalder says. "It's this girl and Damon taking a bubble bath together, drinking wine by candlelight. Damon has this sort of, not cathartic breakdown, but he says to her the way he's feeling. It's kind of tragic that the only way he can express himself to anyone is if he puts them under his compulsion, where they're actually his sort of droids, if you will."

Just because she's a "droid" doesn't mean that Ms. Star will be void of personality. "She's compelled to do whatever Damon says, but she's so quick and so witty and so funny, and she's a woman, you know?" explains Somerhalder. "She's a journalist, she's a reporter. She adds a sort of older element to it."

Stay tuned to Zap2it all week for new "Vampire Diaries" dish every day -- including more from our interview with Somerhalder. The show returns Thursday night at 8 p.m. EST on The CW. Click here to enter Zap2it's CW giveaway by telling us your favorite CW show.