The rumors are true, Nina Dobrev, 26, is leaving The Vampire Diaries after six seasons. The actress confirmed the sad news in a lengthy letter, which she posted on her Instagram page on April 6. The Vampire Diaries will return for a seventh season, but without its leading lady. Series star Nina Dobrev (Elena) is exiting The CW drama, the actress announced Monday afternoon. 

Dobrev's exit comes in a year when the series has lost several key players including her onscreen brother, Steven R. McQueen (Jeremy), as well as Marguerite MacIntyre's Sheriff Forbes; Michael Trevino (Tyler) has booked ABC's The Kingmakers pilot — but the departure of the veteran drama's female lead is a particularly deep loss. During The Vampire Diaries' six-season run, Dobrev also has played Elena's dopplegangers Katherine, Amara and Tatia, in addition to serving as the central love interest for stars Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder.  

Dobrev, meanwhile, has become a fan favorite for her work on The Vampire Diaries. She has earned numerous Teen Choice Awards as well as People's Choice Awards for favorite actress and chemistry with Somerhalder. The series has helped make her a star — she has nearly 5.5 million Twitter followers — and has launched into a film career with feature roles, including in Let's Be Cops, The Roommate and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. She next has horror comedy The Final Girls — which she toplines — debuted in March. Dobrev and Somerhalder dated for three years and split in 2013. Somerhalder is now engaged to actress Nikki Reed, whom he's been dating since 2014.