When The Vampire Diaries returns next season, it will be missing a very familiar face. Leading lady Nina Dobrev is leaving after six seasons with the show, officially ending the Damon-Stefan-Elena love triangle for good. Nina announced the shocking news with a lengthy Instagram caption that read like a love letter to loyal fans—you’ll probably want to grab some tissues for this one.
First she took a walk down memory lane—or more like a sprint between all of her characters on the show—writing, "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." Memories, all alone in the moonlight.
It sounds like Nina has been planning this from the start of the show, which is actually the silver lining—TVD will be able to wrap up Elena’s storylines by the end of season six instead of leaving us in shock and awe if she dies suddenly. More details on her departure are still to come, plus news of what she’s up to next, but she left fans with a sweet farewell.
"I want to share this goodbye with all of you," she wrote. "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.’"
If you can still read through all of your tears, check out the full letter below. Oh, and by the way, Michael Trevino (Tyler) will also be leaving the show, so we’ll be lighting a candlelight vigil in the corner if you need us.
