Why Nina Dobrev Left The Vampire Diaries (But Returned For The Series Finale)

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Nina Dobrev's Elena Gilbert is one of the best characters in the history of "The Vampire Diaries," but her exit from the series is quite abrupt. Elena is at the heart of the show's most intriguing romantic storylines, finding herself in a love triangle between the Salvatore vampire siblings who anchor the festivities. However, nothing lasts forever, and Dobrev's "Vampire Diaries" exit following season 6 came at a time when she was seeking a career change.

"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," Dobrev wrote on her Instagram in 2015. Two years later in an interview with Harper's Bazaar, she further elaborated on her career ambitions. "The things I want to do aren't necessarily the things that are expected of me," she explained. "I don't want to play a teenager anymore. I want to play adult roles and be challenged and work with great filmmakers and tell incredible stories, and that has meant being really picky."

That said, wanting to embark on new ventures wasn't the only motivating factor behind Dobrev's decision to part ways with "The Vampire Diaries." Financial reasons also played a part, something the performer has been very open about over the years.

Nina Dobrev was one of the main characters on "The Vampire Diaries," but she wasn't paid the same as her male co-stars, Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder, who play Stefan and Damon Salvatore, respectively. In an interview for Samantha Highfill's "I Was Feeling Epic: An Oral History of The Vampire Diaries" book, Dobrev explained that she didn't feel rightfully compensated for the work she was putting into the show — especially while portraying both the Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce characters.

"It was a bit of a tricky situation because my contract only said to play Elena, but I was playing multiple characters, which doubled my workload," Dobrev recalled. "I had to be on set for double the amount of time, I had to memorize double the amount of lines."

Be that as it may, Dobrev didn't harbor any ill will towards her former colleagues on "The Vampire Diaries." In fact, she returned in Season 8 to ensure that fans got to say goodbye to Elena on a satisfying note. But what motivated Dobrev to return after previously wanting to pursue fresh challenges, as well as being dissatisfied with her pay a few years prior?

Nina Dobrev returned for "The Vampire Diaries'" series finale, with the storyline explanation being that Elena Gilbert wakes up from the magical coma that wrote the character out of the show in Season 6. In the aforementioned interview for "I Was Feeling Epic: An Oral History of The Vampire Diaries," Dobrev revealed that she agreed to the appearance on the condition she was paid the same as Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder for the episode in question — and she wasn't willing to accept anything less.

"It was just really important to me that at the end of the show, as a woman, I wanted to make sure that I was compensated and that I was an equal to my male counterparts on the show," Dobrev explained. "That's the only reason why at one point I almost didn't come back. I needed to be paid parity to the boys. I had to put my foot down and say if it didn't happen, I wouldn't be able to come back."

Dobrev added that she didn't care about being paid the same as her co-stars for fiscal reasons, as it was more about being regarded as an equal for all of the work she put in throughout the years. It seems that everyone involved reached a compromise in the end, but who knows? Dobrev might have stuck around if she and the other women in the main cast were given equal pay.