Nina Dobrev Leaving ‘Vampire Diaries’: Actress Quits Show After Six Seasons

Nina Dobrev is leaving The Vampire Diaries. The actress announced that she has decided not to return for Season 7 and has actually already celebrated her big goodbye with a party surrounded by her cast and crew as she officially said goodbye to Elena Gilbert.

While the show has been picked up for Season 7, Nina will not be apart of the cast, and fans are so upset by the huge hole her absence will obviously leave. How can she end up with Damon or Stefan if she’s not there? How can the series have a proper ending without its lead female character? These are the questions that the writers will have to face before the next season.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Nina Dobrev spoke out about quitting The Vampire Diaries, but her words did little to ease the shock of her fans.

“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 ‘thatTwilight TV show.’ ? I love you all. Fasten your seatbelts. If you think you know what’s coming, you don’t.”

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Nina Dobrev and her co-star, Ian Somerhalder, had a very long romance, which ended in 2013. Somerhalder is currently engaged to actress Nikki Reed, and the couple’s presence on set has been rumored to be a source of upset for Dobrev and could be one of the reasons why she’s decided to quit the show.

E! Online reports that a big reason Dobrev decided to leaveThe Vampire Diaries is because she wants her freedom. The actress wants to be able to relax after six years of a grueling schedules, and she may also want to explore a more lucrative movie career.

One thing is for sure, Nina will be greatly missed, and the show may not be long for the small screen without her.

What are your thoughts on Nina Dobrev leaving The Vampire Diaries? Are you shocked that she quit?

[Photo By: Ben Rose/Getty Images]