Nina Dobrev has announced she’s leaving The Vampire Diaries after six years on the show. She did not sign on for the upcoming seventh season and let fans know she was leaving in a touching message on Monday.
Dobrev has played Elena Gilbert for sixth seasons, starring alongside Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder.
In a lengthy post on Instagram, she wrote alongside a photo of herself with executive producer Julie Plec, “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.”
The reason Dobrev decided to confirm her exit now is because photos started surfacing this past weekend of the entire Vampire Diaries cast and crew, which spurred rumors. “I want to be the first to tell you that it wasn't just a holiday celebration, it was a goodbye party,” she wrote.
She went on to outline all of the exciting aspects of her character and continued, “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.”
Dobrev split from her co-star, Somerhalder, in 2013 after three years of dating. He went on to get engaged to Twilight star Nikki Reed.
image via Instagram from Nina Dobrev
image via INFphoto.com