The path from the supernatural heights of Hollywood to the grounded reality of sustainable business was paved with more than just good intentions for Ian Somerhalder and Nikki Reed—it was paved with an eight-figure debt.
Somerhalder, 47, whose tenure as a brooding immortal on The Vampire Diaries secured what he calls an “insanely lucrative career in television,” recently pulled back the curtain on the financial nightmare that followed his 2019 retirement. Speaking at the Beverage Forum in Manhattan Beach on Tuesday, April 28, the actor-turned-entrepreneur revealed that a combination of “fraud” and a business built on a shaky foundation left the couple staring into an “eight-figure hole.”
“I mean, I should’ve been retiring off of one of the biggest TV shows in the world,” Somerhalder told E! News, reflecting on the irony of his financial position after eight years of network success. Instead of lounging, the couple went into survival mode. “We sold houses, paintings, cars, watches — everything,” he said, crediting Reed, 37, for the tactical maneuvers that saved them. “Nikki really negotiated us out of this deal.”
The Rearview Mirror
The decision to walk away was a gamble Somerhalder took at the peak of his powers. After the cancellation of his Netflix series V Wars, he traded the soundstage for the soil. Despite reclaiming the rights to V Wars, he told reporters in October 2024 that a return to the screen is highly unlikely.
“I think it’s in the rearview mirror. I do,” he admitted. “I just don’t know how the hell we would ever make a TV show. We’re building three companies at the same time, raising kids.”
For Somerhalder, the trade-off is a matter of legacy over vanity. “I would much rather do this than go spend two months in some city, shooting a TV show away from my family,” he noted. “I want to focus on family and the future of farming and food and energy and the big things. I don’t need to chase awards and anything that would make me feel better about myself.”
From Script to Sustainability
While Somerhalder speaks of a hard break, Reed views their evolution through a more fluid lens. Addressing SiriusXM’s The Julia Cunningham Show last year, the Twilight alumna framed their departure not as an exit, but as an expansion.
“I don’t view it like a walk away,” Reed explained. “I sort of view a nice transitional moment right now of figuring out how to really marry business with passion… 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.”
The “practice” Reed speaks of is a sprawling portfolio of eco-conscious ventures. Central to their efforts is The Absorption Company, a sustainable powdered supplement brand the couple launched in 2024. Somerhalder also maintains his ties to former co-star Paul Wesley through Brother’s Bond Bourbon, a label rooted in regenerative agriculture.
Reed, meanwhile, remains a powerhouse in the “green” sector. She continues to oversee her sustainable jewelry line, Bayou With Love, serves as creative director for the eco-friendly sneaker brand LOCI, and acts as an investor and advisor for Genexa, a firm dedicated to clean over-the-counter medicine.
Between the balance sheets and the boardrooms, the couple remains anchored by their family life. They share an 8-year-old daughter and a son who will celebrate his third birthday this June. Having climbed out of a financial abyss, the pair seems content to leave the vampires and werewolves behind in favor of a much more sustainable reality.
