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Damon may remain single for quite some time in upcoming season 7 of "The Vampire Diaries". After losing the love of his life Elena, the older Salvatore may be back to his wild days, but he won't console himself with romancing another woman.

Executive producer Caroline Dries tells TV Guide, "He is not ready to hook up; let's be clear about that!" She goes on sharing, "He is drinking and having a wild time, but he is wildly affected by the loss of Elena. He's never going to not be about Elena, so this first chapter is life after Elena. He's trying to struggle with, how do I do right by Elena and still be myself?"

Dries adds that Elena will still be included in the story although Nina Dobrev has exited the show. "Even though Nina is gone, Elena is in the ether and we have a way of including her in the story lines without actually including her," she explains.

Recently, The CW's president Mike Pedowitz said the show would always be open for Dobrev's return. "We would have loved Nina to stay," he said at a Television Critics Association panel on Tuesday, August 11. "She did a great job for the six years she was on the show. She is welcome back any time she wants to come back."

Meanwhile, at the San Diego Comic-Con in July, Ian Somerhalder teased how the loss of Elena would change his character. "It's the old f***ing Damon, the Damon that we really fell in love with. That's the goal - let's bring that back, that energy, that sexy, volatile, fun, scary, dangerous - a lot of that s**t that made you guys fall in love with him to begin with," he gushed. "I'm bringing it back!"

Showrunner Julie Plec added, "The challenge for Damon is Elena said to him to please live your life and be who you are. The [question] is, 'Who am I without this girl by my side?' ... The line is going to get a little crooked, and he's going to hopscotch over it. We're going to get a lot of naughty Damon trying not to be naughty."