Ian Somerhalder Details Eight-Figure Debt from Failed Venture

Ian Somerhalder, known for his role as Damon Salvatore on The Vampire Diaries, disclosed in a recent interview that a failed business venture seven years ago left him and his wife, Nikki Reed, in an eight-figure debt hole due to fraud and mismanagement.

Speaking at the Beverage Forum in Manhattan Beach, California, on April 28, the 47-year-old actor explained that he stepped away from a lucrative television career after building a clean energy company improperly while starring on the CW series from 2009 to 2017. "I left an insanely lucrative career in television after financial upheaval from building a business that I didn't build properly," Somerhalder said. "And due to fraud, it put my wife and I into an eight-figure hole."

The crisis stemmed from heavy investments and personal guarantees to banks, exacerbated by fraudulent activities from a major customer and a downturn in the oil and gas industry. Somerhalder and Reed, who married in a surprise backyard ceremony in 2015, sold houses, paintings, cars, watches and other assets to recover. Reed took a leading role in negotiations, assembling a team to resolve the debt. "Eight figures is a hard hole to climb out of, but Nikki...