'Vampire Diaries' stars bid farewell after series finale

— -- After eight seasons, "Vampire Diaries" fans finally had to say goodbye to the supernatural drama Friday night when the series finale aired.

The stars of the show also had to bid farewell, with many taking to social media to reflect on the show, its fans and their co-stars.

Nina Dobrev, who portrayed Katherine Pierce on the long-running series, posted several photos of herself with the cast along with a sweet message.

One stack of photos she posted featured co-star Zach Roerig, who played Matt Donovan, Dobrev's onscreen friend and ex-boyfriend.

"8 years ago, this fool and I boarded a plane to Vancouver to shoot a pilot," she began in the lengthy caption. "We didn't know each other, but we BOTH only brought 1 carry on and then a snowboard bag as checked luggage."

"During the weeks we would shoot 15 hour days, and on Fridays we filmed through the night until we wrapped at 6 am and went straight from set to Whistler mountain to hit the slopes and shred the terrain park. We became fast friends. And almost got fired," Dobrev continued.

"Luckily we survived to the bitter end with out any broken bones (surprisingly) and now 8 years later we have a show that we're proud of and a friendship that will last a life time," she concluded.

Dobrev also posted other photos with actresses Sara Canning, Kayla Ewell and Candice King.

"We started out as fetuses. Now we are women. The trips, adventures, and laughter I have shared with these beautiful souls makes me tear with joy," she began. "8 seasons later, some are engaged, some married and some have fetuses of their own. These are incredible women and forces to be reckoned with. I'm so proud of you all."

Ian Somerhalder, who played vampire Damon Salvatore, posted a cryptic photo of him waving goodbye.

In a caption, he wrote: "Wow saying good bye to 8 years... wow. Thank you all! Watching the Finale right now! Thank you #tvd fans around the world."

Kat Graham, who portrayed Bonnie Bennett, Dobrev's onscreen best friend, also reflected on the series' finale.

"The end is near," she wrote next to cartoon renderings of her character. "thank you to all the beautiful fans for your support during the 8 years of #thevampirediaries."