Nina Dobrev Reveals Behind-the-Scenes Fight for Equal Pay on ‘The Vampire Diaries’

Nina Dobrev is opening up about her quest for equal pay on The Vampire Diaries.

Dobrev, who played the female lead Elena Gilbert on the fan-favorite CW series, sheds light on the behind-the-scenes fight in Entertainment Weekly editor Samantha Highfill’s debut book, I Was Feeling Epic: An Oral History of The Vampire Diaries, out now.

Highfill wrote that when season 3 rolled around, it was time for the three leads — Dobrev, Ian Somerhalder (Damon Salvatore) and Paul Wesley (Stefan Salvatore) — to renegotiate their contracts.

“Candice [King], Kat [Graham], and I were the three lowest-paid series regulars in the first two seasons,” Dobrev said. “It was a bit of a tricky situation because my contract only said to play Elena, but I was playing multiple characters, which doubled my workload.”

Throughout the show, Dobrev took on doppelgänger versions of Elena, most famously with the devilish Katherine Pierce, while her male counterparts were just playing one character and allegedly getting paid more for it.

“I had to be on set for double the amount of time, I had to memorize double the amount of lines,” Dobrev said. “I wanted to play Katherine, but I wanted to be compensated fairly for that, and I wanted to be an equal to the boys.”

The studio also allegedly told the writers to stop writing for Katherine because they now “had to pay” Dobrev whenever she took on both roles, with The Vampire Diaries‘ co-creator and showrunner Julie Plec saying they had to “basically beg the network” and “negotiate for the right to let Nina play Katherine.”

“It got really heated, and so it basically got phoned down back to us writers that we were not allowed to write Katherine in at all ever, which of course was not something that I felt was right or fair,” Plec said.

Highfill wrote that Dobrev was ultimately “successful in getting more money” during her renegotiation, but she never achieved parity with Somerhalder and Wesley as a series regular.

Dobrev said she was told that “out of principle” the studio “wouldn’t bump me up to being equal to the boys, and so that was probably the most hurtful because it felt like I was really working hard and we shot eighteen-hour days sometimes, and nights, and I was putting my absolute heart and soul, blood, sweat, and tears into it.”

“I remember feeling like the studio didn’t appreciate what I was bringing to the show, and it felt like they were saying that all the hard work I was putting into it didn’t matter to them and that I wasn’t an equal to my male counterparts, and so that was upsetting to me,” she added.

Plec said that the writers were eventually allowed to write for Katherine but recalled, “I literally think we had to say, ‘We’ll kill Katherine,’ in order to get permission to use her.”

Dobrev left the series at the end of season 6, but did return in the final season — with the amount of episodes she would be in causing yet another debate over her pay.

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

The Vampire Diaries co-creator Kevin Williamson said the initial idea was to have Dobrev back for the entire run of season 8 for the show to say goodbye. As a backup, Plec came up with a storyline that would have her back for multiple episodes.

Highfill wrote that Dobrev “stood her ground” in fighting for parity with Somerhalder and Wesley, who had “gotten multiple raises since her exit.”

“I was always open to coming back for the finale, and storyline-wise it made sense. I felt like it was important and it needed to happen for the show, it needed to happen for the fans,” Dobrev recalled. “It was just really important to me that at the end of the show, as a woman, I wanted to make sure that I was compensated and that I was an equal to my male counterparts on the show, and so it came down to that.”

Dobrev said the opening offer for her to return in the series finale “was five times less” than what she made when she left the series. Dobrev noted that this was “the only reason why at one point I almost didn’t come back.”

“I needed to be paid parity to the boys. I had to put my foot down and say if it didn’t happen I wouldn’t be able to come back,” she said. “And it wasn’t about the money — I didn’t give a s— about the money at all — it was the principle.”

Plec flat-out said that Dobrev “should’ve been making what those boys made all along,” adding, “To her credit, she advocated for herself and she stuck to her guns.”

“It was my second time trying to make this point. It wasn’t about the actual dollar amount, it was about being an equal. They really didn’t want to give it to me,” Dobrev claimed, “and I politely declined the offer.”

Dobrev said Plec then stepped in “and put her foot down” and the network eventually caved, agreeing to just one episode at Dobrev’s desired rate.

The actress said she “felt horrible” for the fans and “it was heartbreaking that the artistry had to suffer because of this,” noting that it was a bummer she wouldn’t be back for multiple episodes like Plec had envisioned.

In the end, Dobrev returned for the series finale — aptly titled “I Was Feeling Epic” — and, along with her cast members, bid farewell.

“I’m very happy that we were able to make it work and that I came back,” Dobrev said, “because I wanted to be part of the goodbye.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

I Was Feeling Epic: An Oral History of The Vampire Diaries is now available, wherever books are sold.