Ian Somerhalder confirms next season of Vampire Diaries will be his last

It's the end of an era for Vampire Diaries fans.  Ian Somerhalder has confirmed that the next season of Vampire Diaries will be his last. He broke the news at a Q& A session in Texas recently. After he shared the news, fans of the show got concerned that this meant the end of the show entirely, but Ian was quick to set the record straight with a lengthy post on Twitter. He said:

"Hey all, so... Last weekend I talked to an audience at a Q&A about the end of #TVD and how excited I was to make what I believe - my last year - be as great as possible. Somehow in my infinite wisdom and end-of-season foggy brain, I managed to make it sound like the show was coming to an end. Cut-to the press running stories that the show would be done after Season 8. Thing is, the people who actually make that decision (the CW and WB) haven’t made it yet! So let’s take things one step at a time: Season 7 wrap, vacation, lots of sleep, let the writers get started on Season 8, and then we’ll all see where we go from there. Until then, much love ;) Love, Ian"

PHEW!