Nina Dobrev is finally owning her side of the story surrounding her exit from The Vampire Diaries, driven not by cash but a fight for fairness. In Samantha Highfill’s oral history I Was Feeling Epic, the actress opens up about her decision to leave the beloved CW series after six seasons—not due to creative differences, but a persistent pay gap. Although she played two major roles—Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce—doubling her workload, she never received compensation equal to her male co-stars, Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley, despite negotiating a raise.
The situation escalated when studio executives instructed writers to remove Katherine scenes altogether, unwilling to pay her double for both roles. Dobrev remained steadfast, explaining calmly, “It wasn’t about the money—I didn’t give a s— about the money at all—it was the principle.” When the opportunity arose to return for the final episode, she declined the initial offer, pointing out that it was “five times less” than her final season’s rate. Only after co-creator Julie Plec intervened, did the network agree to pay her equally. In the end, Dobrev returned—not for the paycheck, but to close the chapter on her own terms.
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