Torrey DeVitto explains why Dr. Meredith Fell isn't in The Vampire Diaries after season 4

Torrey DeVitto is opening up on the reasons behind her exit from The Vampire Diaries and it turns out there's a personal reason fans never saw the actress again on the show.

After breaking out in Pretty Little Liars, DeVitto was rising up by joining the CW hit The Vampire Diaries in the show's third season. She played Dr. Meredith Fell, a surgeon who falls into the supernatural world and a romance with Alaric. 

The character was growing popular and a huge move was made in the season 3 finale when she gave a dying Elena vampire blood to turn her into a vampire. It was expected that Meredith would become a key character after that but when season 4 began, she had left Mystic Falls. It was later explained she'd moved to Alaska and married someone else. 

It was a surprise to fans but on a recent episode of Rachel Bilson's Broad Ideas podcast, DeVitto shared the reason, which should be obvious. When she was cast to star in The Vampire Diaries, she was married to Paul Wesley, who played Stefan Salvatore. However, the pair divorced in 2013 and the response to their split, on top of her personal feelings about returning, led to DeVitto realizing she couldn't continue on the show. 

"It was [public]. It was the first time I did something like that. Because he was on a really big show that was really popular, so it did draw [attention]. I was [on it], but I only did like six episodes. And then once we were splitting up I was like, 'Pfft, not going back there. I'm not that kind of person that's like, 'Well, this is business, I can stay.' It's like, no. I don't want to come back. I'm good, thank you."

Torrey DeVitto had to move on after her divorce

DeVitto shared more on how the whole ordeal felt as she was unprepared for how The Vampire Diaries' huge fanbase meant her divorce got more attention. That included how many fans who loved Stefan made her an unfair target. 

"That did garner a bit of attention in a way that I don't think I was prepared for. And then it was hard too because for a couple years, anybody that I would date afterwards, people would just [say], 'He's so disgusting. He'll never be [Wesley]. How could you do this?' It was mortifying [because fans] glamorized [Stefan] though they didn't actually know him."

DeVitto did, of course, bounce back, landing the role of Dr. Natalie Manning on the NBC hit Chicago Med. She's kept busy appearing in several Hallmark Channel movies and seems in a better place now.

It's too bad the personal aspects pushed DeVitto off of The Vampire Diaries as she was good on the show and there was a possibility Meredith could have become a bigger character. At least DeVitto landed on her feet with another popular TV show role and fans of hers can still enjoy her work.

The Vampire Diaries and Chicago Med are streaming on Peacock. Stay tuned to Hidden Remote for more news and coverage. We'll keep you posted on what's set to premiere and return during the 2024-2025 television season and beyond. Follow us on X and become a part of the conversation, we love talking all things TV!