Ian Somerhalder says leaving Hollywood led to 8-figure debt for him and wife Nikki Reed
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Actor Ian Somerhalder recently revealed that he and his wife, Nikki Reed, faced a significant financial crisis after stepping away from Hollywood, accumulating an eight-figure debt following a failed business venture.
Despite the setback, the couple managed to recover through a combination of personal efforts and strategic decisions, offering insight into the risks tied to entrepreneurship after a successful acting career.
Ian Somerhalder says failed business and fraud triggered 8-figure debt
Somerhalder disclosed, “I retired from acting seven years ago. I left an insanely lucrative career in television after a financial upheaval from building a business that I didn’t build properly.” The situation worsened, he said, “due to fraud, it put my wife and I into an eight-figure hole.”
He added that “it all came crashing down” after making eight figures’ worth of personal guarantees to a bank. Somerhalder credited Reed with helping them recover from the crisis, saying, “Eight figures is a hard hole to climb out of, but Nikki and I did it. You know, she really negotiated us out of this deal, but we sold houses, paintings, cars, watches, everything.”
“I mean, I should have been retiring off of one of the biggest TV shows in the world,” he added, referring to 'The Vampire Diaries,' in which he starred from 2009 to 2017.
Following his retirement from acting, Somerhalder moved into entrepreneurship. He co-founded 'Brother’s Bond Bourbon' with co-star Paul Wesley and launched 'The Absorption Company' with Reed, a venture focused on high-absorption powdered supplements.
He also shared advice for those starting a business with a partner, saying, “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.” The couple married in April 2015 and have two children together, an 8-year-old daughter, Bodhi, and a son welcomed in June 2023.
They relocated to a farm just outside Los Angeles a few years ago and have not looked back since. “We’re building three companies at the same time, raising kids,” he told People in October 2024.
Nikki Reed calls post-Hollywood shift a transitional moment
Last year, Reed shared during a conversation with host Julia Cunningham on 'The Julia Cunningham Show' that while Somerhalder often speaks about “walking away” from their entertainment careers, she sees it differently.
“He talks about walking away a lot. I don’t view it like a walk away. I sort of view a nice transitional moment right now of figuring out how to really marry business with passion, with, you know, truly walking the walk,” Reed said.
She added, “I think you can talk about this stuff all you want, but if you don’t have your feet on the ground and you aren’t doing it in practice, then it’s hard to really be an expert in something you don’t know, and so that’s a real priority for me."
Reed further described their dynamic, saying they are “kind of like the yin and the yang,” noting that Somerhalder excels at amplifying messages globally while she focuses on grounding their work.
The pair have launched multiple projects, with Somerhalder backing documentaries such as 'Common Ground' and 'Kiss the Ground.' Both have also been vocal about environmental efforts.
“I’ve had to learn to really plant my feet in the ground so that he and I can balance that out. You know, you can’t run a farm if you’re not there,” Reed said.
