Ian Somerhalder is not leaving "The Vampire Diaries," even as his on-screen partner, Nina Dobrev, already exited the show.

In an interview with E! News, he said that Damon can survive on his own without Elena.

"All I can say about that is that they were great characters separate, they were great characters together, and they remain great characters separated," he said.

Nikki Reed's husband added, "Damon is still here and he's still evolving and he's still having a blast and he's still saying super-smarmy, ridiculously overly confident, very wildly embarrassing and degrading things and he will continue to do that, but with a little love for Elena in his heart."

Celebrity Dirty Laundry noted that Ian Somerhalder is quite aware about his "The Vampire Diaries" loveteam with Nina Dobrev is still generating a lot of interest for fans even if he's already married to Nikki Reed.

Is the actor using his ex-girlfriend to promote the series?

"Ian talked about Delena and the fans of his former relationship with Elena, invoking the memory of his off-screen romance with Dobrev," the article said. "Sending a message to fans that Elena will always be in his heart... and so will Nina Dobrev?"

There has been a lot of talks about Nina Dobrev exiting "The Vampire Diaries" and foremost among them is the alleged tension between her and ex-boyfriend Ian Somerhalder right after he hooked up with Nikki Reed.

Apparently, Nikki Reed and Nina Dobrev were friends and the latter really poured her heart into the "Twilight" star after the split with Ian Somerhalder. So it was a sort of betrayal when she realized that the two ended up together.

"Obviously she is in his heart and he is going to have a very tough time understanding how to go on, but that's what drama's for," Ian Somerhalder added of Nina Dobrev's exit from "The Vampire Diaries."