At some point over the last few years, Ian Somerhalder and his wife Nikki Reed decided to leave Hollywood behind and focus on raising a family on their farm outside of Los Angeles. You may remember the absolutely bonkers story about Ian throwing out Nikki’s birth control pills after he decided that it was time for them to have children. I was a big LOST fan, (RIP Boone) but even that community was all, “Eww, ick nast, learn some boundaries, my man!”
Well, Ian and Nikki have been fairly quiet over the past few years, as they live that farm life with their two children, daughter Bodhi, six, and a six-month-old son whose name hasn’t been made public yet. As of right now, they’ve officially given up the acting life for that farm and executive producing life. The couple are passionate about making our planet a better place for the next generation, and are EPs of a new documentary, Common Ground. Common Ground is a follow-up to a 2020 documentary called Kiss the Ground. At the premiere, Ian was asked if he missed acting. Turns out, at 45-years-old, he’s basically over it.
Ian Somerhalder isn’t thirsting to sink his teeth into another role. In fact, the Vampire Diaries alum doesn’t even miss acting after moving to a farm outside of Los Angeles with his wife Nikki Reed to concentrate on family—including their 6-year-old daughter and 6-month-old son—and reconnect with nature.
“I love what I did for a really long time,” Ian told E! News at the Jan. 11 screening of Common Ground in partnership with Maker’s Mark. “I love making films, I just did it for so long. We had an amazing run.”
However, Ian does look back on set life fondly, describing it as a “community” and a “family.”
“But this is our 2.0 version,” he said, before turning to Nikki with a smile, “about to be 3.0 version.”
In the couple’s new dawn, Ian, 45, and Nikki, 35, are focused on creating a better future for the next generation. That’s why they got involved as executive producers on Common Ground, a follow-up to the 2020 documentary Kiss the Ground about how the “regenerative agriculture” movement could help with the global food system and Earth’s climate.
“When you see the way that nature operates, you find compassion,” Nikki told E! at the event. “It’s a beautiful thing to see what’s happening with children, to watch them participate in the growing of their food and the understanding of what food is and where it comes from.”
For the Twilight actress, she had her “a-ha chapter” in her early 20s. “I started connecting the dots between what you do for the planet and what you do for yourself,” she said. “It’s an evolution and a lifelong pursuit.”
Nikki continued, “It’s become a way of living so much simpler.”
But like Ian, who she married in 2015, Nikki has fond memories of her silver screen projects, including her breakout role in the 2003’s Thirteen.
“It’s such a throwback, all the time,” she admitted. “It’s life-changing for a lot of us.”
Ian added of the coming-of-age movie, “It’s pretty much a cultural thing.”
Look, I live next to a state park that I hike or run in several days a week. I am all about the environment and giving back to the Earth that has given us so many resources. And while I’m at it, I think The Giving Tree is a bullsh–t story that teaches kids that it’s okay to take to enrich our own lives because we’re owed it. Honk if you agree with me!
Okay, with that off my chest, let’s talk about Ian. Wikipedia says that he’s been an active actor since 1997. I get it, 27 years is a long time, and there’s nothing wrong with wanting a career change as you grow and mature. However, I get the impression that Nikki isn’t quite done with acting yet. Maybe I’m applying an intonation that isn’t there because of the whole birth control history, but the article’s phrasing when talking about her giving up acting is…interesting. I do wonder which one of them will return to acting first, though. Despite Nikki sounding like she’s not finished with that career just yet, my money is on it being Ian.
Photos credit: IMAGO/Faye Sadou / Avalon, Getty and via Instagram
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