‘Vampire Diaries’ star Ian Somerhalder sold ‘everything’ after fraud left him in ‘eight-figure hole’
"The Vampire Diaries" alum Ian Somerhalder is opening up about a financial nightmare.
During a recent interview with E! News, the 47-year-old actor revealed that he and his wife, "Twilight" star Nikki Reed, were forced to sell "everything" after a bad business deal left them on the hook for millions.
"I retired from acting seven years ago," Somerhalder said. "I left an insanely lucrative career in television after financial upheaval from building a business that I didn’t build properly. And due to fraud, it put my wife and I into an eight-figure hole."
Somerhalder credited Reed as the driving force behind their recovery, saying she helped steer them through negotiations and out of the massive debt.
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"Eight figures is a hard hole to climb out of," Somerhalder said. "But Nikki and I did it. You know, she really negotiated us out of this deal but we sold houses, paintings, cars, watches, everything."
Somerhalder previously said that he invested in the badly managed business while starring on "The Vampire Diaries." The actor played Damon Salvatore on the hit CW series throughout its eight-season run from 2009 to 2017.
"I should have been retiring off of one of the biggest TV shows in the world," Somerhalder said. "And so, then leaving a lucrative business in television to go start companies that were not going to pay me possibly ever. So burnout, financial perseverance, and staying power is really, really, really important."
"It's a lot like aviation, right?," said Somerhalder, who is learning to become a pilot. "I live on planes, right. Did 120 flights last year, I'll do 150 this year. A lot of them will be on my little plane as well. But you plan for things to go wrong."
"So what do we do if it goes wrong?" he continued. "Well, we do this, this and this. Well, what do we do if it goes right? Well, we do this, this and this. So you're always in the middle. If it goes wrong, you do this. If it does right, you can do this. Either way, you're winning and surviving."
"And not even surviving, you're thriving and growing," he added.
Somerhalder went on to share his advice for people who are considering starting businesses with their spouses.
"Remember, it's supposed to be fun," he said. "The ups and the downs in the journey are supposed to be fun, the grind is supposed to be fun. Find the beauty in all of it."
"For preserving as a human being as a parent as a spouse as a human, you just have to make sure that you don't take personal guarantees and if you're in the grind with your spouse make it fun," Somerhalder emphasized.
In 2021, Somerhalder first revealed that he had faced a major financial crisis and praised Reed for her role in navigating the fallout.
"I’ve never disclosed this publicly, but this woman worked selflessly for 2yrs to build me out of a terrible business situation I got myself into," Somerhalder wrote in an Instagram post. "Before Nik and I got together I built a company while shooting TVD that was important to me."
Somerhalder explained that he "invested heavily" and made "huge personal guarantees" to different banks.
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Somerhalder said that he was left in financial ruin "due to greed and fraud within that company and fraudulent activities from our biggest customer, not to mention the temporary collapse of the oil and gas industry."
The "Lost" star did not reveal specific details about the company that led to his financial woes but shared that traveling the world in attempt to pay off the debt left him hospitalized four times in two years.
Somerhalder went on to credit Reed for allowing him the freedom to create his successful liquor company, Brothers Bond Bourbon, with his former "The Vampire Diaries" co-star, Paul Wesley.
"I am where I am BECAUSE of this woman. Brothers Bond Bourbon is actually here today because of this woman. I was able to start my life over because of this woman. Needless to say it’s been the most eye opening and truly humbling experience."
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Reed and Somerhalder tied the knot during a surprise "backyard barbecue" wedding in April 2015. The pair's first child, Bodhi was born two years later in 2017. The couple welcomed a son, whose name they haven't disclosed, in 2023.
Somerhalder is now involved in several successful business ventures including The Absorption Company, a supplement brand focused on improving how the body absorbs vitamins and nutrients, that he co-founded with Reed in 2024.
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During his interview with E! News, which took place at the Beverage Forum in Manhattan Beach, California, Somerhalder reflected on the differences between his acting and business careers.
"Being the star of a successful television show is literally like eating a cupcake compared to being an entrepreneur of two nine-figure businesses that are scaling simultaneously, one of them globally," he said. "This is not for the faint of heart, but if you love what you do, and you love your products, and you love people and the idea is to bring people together, even in this digital world."
"You know, I make whiskey and I make vitamins. People go, 'Well, you know, you make vitamins, but you make alcohol.' And I'm like, 'Dude, life's about balance. Like bringing people together over a campfire or a table."
"That's my vibe," he added.