Nina Dobrev
'The Vampire Diaries' actress Nina Dobrev.Reuters

Confirming rumours that have been swirling around since last year, Nina Dobrev revealed through an Instagram post on Monday afternoon that she was quitting CW's "The Vampire Diaries" after its sixth season.

The 26-year-old actress added that the weekend she spent with the cast and crew of "The Vampire Diaries" on Lake Lanier in Georgia was not just a holiday celebration, but a goodbye party as well.

"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… 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…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."

Executive producer of the show Julie Plec said in a statement that although it was sad to see Dobrev leave, she is looking forward to continue the story with the Salvatore brothers (Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley's Damon and Stefan). 

Clearly, fans are devastated by the news and many are blaming actor Ian Somerhalder for Dobrev's decision to leave the show.

As reported earlier, Somerhalder and Dobrev dated for almost three years before calling it quits in 2013. Although they are said to have had a cordial relationship on set of the vampire drama, Somerhalder's recent engagement to Nikki Reed has complicated things for the ex lovers.

Here are a few tweets from fans:

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