Ian Somerhalder To Quit ‘The Vampire Diaries’? New Reports Claims He Will Follow His Ex Nina Dobrev And Leave The Series

By now, it is becoming more and more evident that The Vampire Diaries has seen better days. Although the series was once a huge draw for The CW, Nina Dobrev’s departure at the end of last season has proven to be a negative impact in the show’s ratings. With rumors of a cancellation mounting, is Ian Somerhalder getting ready to quit the series and follow Dobrev’s lead?

According to Celeb Dirty Laundry, Somerhalder’s future with the series may be dependent on his relationship with wife Nikki Reed. Apparently, the marriage between Somerhalder and Reed is not at a high point, and the Vampire Diaries star wants to be a dad before the series is over. However, Reed is not ready to start having children just yet, which has driven a wedge between the two stars.

To add further complications to the matter, The Vampire Diaries has seen a large reduction in the amount of viewers tuning in each week. For the most part, this drop in ratings has a direct correlation with Dobrev no longer being a part of the show. Things have gotten so bad for the series that the network recently announced the show would be moved from its regular night to Fridays when it returns to television.

With the future of the show in question, Ian Somerhalder may have good reasons to quit the series before the network decides to pull the plug on The Vampire Diaries. In fact, it has been known that Somerhalder has had a strong desire to start a family in the past. With the actor turning 37 a week ago, Somerhalder might have a lot of motivation to quit and start a family before he gets too old. With The Vampire Diaries heading downhill, this might be the perfect time for Somerhalder to call it quits.

That being said, Reed may not be willing to start having kids, especially considering how the actress is busy building up her own career in Hollywood. Although Reed has not had a major role since her part in the Twilight series, she was recently cast for a spot on Sleepy Hollow. With her career beginning to shape up, it isn’t clear if she is willing to risk her career at this time in order to start a family with Somerhalder.

Meanwhile, Realty Today is reporting that Somerhalder’s character, Damon Salvatore, may be set to be killed off in a coming episode. Apparently, Somerhalder believes that fans no longer value his character now that Elena is out of the picture, and the actor has no problems with producers killing his character off.

The idea that the series might be ready to end Damon’s life was hinted during a previous episode. In the installment, Damon is caught in a dangerous pit where his life may be in peril. Whether or not Damon gets out of his predicament is yet to be seen.

At the same time, it is always possible that Somerhalder will remain a part of The Vampire Diaries. After all, just because the show has been moved to a new night doesn’t necessarily mean that a cancellation is on the horizon. However, the biggest hurdle moving forward is definitely boosting the show’s ratings, which saw a decrease of over 30 percent in the last episode.

With one episode, titled “Mommie Dearest,” managing to gain the smallest amount of viewers in the history of the network, the series has a lot of work to do if it wants to prevent a future cancellation. At this time, Somerhalder has yet to release an official statement on the matter and let fans know what his future plans entail.

Tell us! Do you think Ian Somerhalder will really leave The Vampire Diaries? Let us know in the comments below.

[Image via The CW]