The CW renewed "The Vampire Diaries" for a seventh season, but the show will return one star down next fall.
Nine Dobrev, who plays Elena Gilbert, announced in an Instagram post that she would leave the hit teen series after six seasons. "The Vampires Diaries" is schedule to air its sixth season finale on Thursday, May 14.
Dobrev stated in the post that she always envisioned her character's arc as a "six season adventure." She addressed the entire "Vampire Diaries" family, including her coworkers and fans, in the lengthy goodbye note.
Dearest TVD Family,
I've just spent the most beautiful weekend on Lake Lanier in Georgia with my own TVD Family, the cast and crew of The Vampire Diaries. I want to be the first to tell you that it wasn't just a holiday celebration, it was a goodbye party. I always knew I wanted Elena's story to be a six season adventure, and within those six years I got the journey of a lifetime. I was a human, a vampire, a doppelganger, a crazy immortal, a doppelganger pretending to be human, a human pretending to be a doppelganger. I got kidnapped, killed, resurrected, tortured, cursed, body-snatched, was dead and undead, and there's still so much more to come before the season finale in May. Elena fell in love not once, but twice, with two epic soulmates, and I myself made some of the best friends I'll ever know and built an extended family I will love forever.
There's more to come before we wrap this up, and I promise you'll get to hear all about my experiences over the next month as we approach the season finale (I have given an exclusive interview for the June issue of SELF Magazine that I am excited for you to see!), but until then I invite you to hop on the roller coaster ride that is Elena Gilbert's life and join me as I celebrate her and prepare to say goodbye to her - and to my work family - as I move on to the next chapter of my life. I want to share this goodbye with all of you (this weekend's pictures were just the beginning). You, the wonderful fandom who gave more love, support and passion than anyone could have ever imagined seven years ago, when a young Degrassi girl from Canada showed up in LA to audition for 'that Twilight TV show.' ;-) I love you all. Fasten your seatbelts. If you think you know what's coming, you don't.
Love, Nina
A photo posted by Nina Dobrev (@ninadobrev) on Apr 6, 2015 at 5:01pm PDT
Speculation on her imminent exit started over the weekend when pictures from the lakeside retreat were tagged #NinaWeWillMissYou by "TVD" cast and crew on the trip.
Her character Elena dated both her male co-stars characters: Paul Wesley's Stefan and Ian Somerhalder's Damon. Dobrev and Somerhalder also dated off-screen for three years between 2010 and 2013.
Executive producer Julie Plec released her own statement on Dobrev's departure to HollywoodLife.com.
"Saying goodbye to Nina is both bittersweet and beautiful. After six-plus years together, the entire cast and crew of 'The Vampire Diaries' has reached a level of closeness that I don't think any of us ever expected. Nina is excited to spread her wings, get some rest, travel the world and also take it by storm, and we support her a thousand-fold. We will miss Nina and the four hundred characters she played, but we look forward to the insane and exciting challenge of continuing to tell stories of our Salvatore Brothers and our much-loved and gifted ensemble," Plec said.
The EP also confirmed the exit of Michael Trevino, who has played Tyler Lockwood since the series' inception.
"Michael [Trevino] has been a beloved member of the Vampire Diaries family since day one. Even though he's also going to be out in the world exploring new opportunities, we look forward to finding creative ways to make sure he and his character Tyler Lockwood always remain a part of the show."
"The Vampire Diaries" airs on Thursdays at 9 p.m. on The CW.
