Why VAMPIRE DIARIES Star Ian Somerhalder Left Hollywood for Family, Farm

Published: November 13, 2023

Why VAMPIRE DIARIES Star Ian Somerhalder Left Hollywood for Family, Farm

By Movieguide® Contributor

VAMPIRE DIARIES star Ian Somerhalder is sharing why he left Hollywood behind for a peaceful life on a farm with his family.

“Walking through the farm with kids and dogs and family,” he said of his new life. “Every stop, you’re pulling off of trees or off of bushes, pulling up out of the ground and feeding everyone as you’re moving through the farm.”

He and wife and fellow actress Nikki Reed left Los Angeles four years ago for a more rural environment. They share a 6-year-old daughter, Bodhi, and a 5-month-old son. They have not publicly shared his name yet.

In addition to working and raising their kids, Somerhalder and Reed grow herbs and take care of the farm’s cows, donkeys and goats.

“It is a lot of work,” Somerhalder said. “It’s unbelievable when you see these amazing creature life forms…and how they all live on the farm together is really special.”

The actor elaborated on the family’s move in an interview with PEOPLE, saying, “[It’s been] magic. It’s really the way it’s always supposed to have been. I think now you’re seeing a lot of people who were working in corporate offices, and you can see it now from a societal standpoint. People are having a really hard time getting back to work.”

He added, “People have realized that their time and the value of their time and the value proposition of time has shifted a bit. Be more engaged, be outdoors more, spend more time with one another.”

Reed weighed in on the couple’s decision as well, saying, “I made a conscious choice to give my [children] the most normal life possible.”

“My greatest joy is watching my daughter run through the dirt with her shoes off,” the TWILIGHT actress added.

Reed also made the decision to step away from the entertainment industry.

“It was a very scary pivot for me to leave the only career I had ever known, that I had worked in since I was 13, to try something new,” she explained. “But I learned a lot about what’s important to me. A lot of things that came with a Hollywood lifestyle, there isn’t synergy with the priorities I now have in my life and with the people I want to surround myself with.”