“The Vampire Diaries” alum Ian Somerhalder is opening up about a financial nightmare.

During a recent interview with E! News, the 47-year-old actor revealed that he and his wife, “Twilight” star Nikki Reed, were forced to sell “everything” after a bad business deal left them on the hook for millions.

“I retired from acting seven years ago,” Somerhalder said. “I left an insanely lucrative career in television after financial upheaval from building a business that I didn’t build properly. And due to fraud, it put my wife and I into an eight-figure hole.”

Somerhalder credited Reed as the driving force behind their recovery, saying she helped steer them through negotiations and out of the massive debt.

IAN SOMERHALDER RETURNS TO VAMPIRE ROOTS, TALKS WORKING WITH WIFE NIKKI REED IN ‘V WARS’

“Eight figures is a hard hole to climb out of,” Somerhalder said. “But Nikki and I did it. You know, she really negotiated us out of this deal but we sold houses, paintings, cars, watches, everything.”

Somerhalder previously said that he invested in the badly managed business while starring on “The Vampire Diaries.” The actor played Damon Salvatore on the hit CW series throughout its eight-season run from 2009 to 2017.

“I should have been retiring off of one of the biggest TV shows in the world,” Somerhalder said. “And so, then leaving a lucrative business in television to go start companies that were not going to pay me possibly ever. So burnout, financial perseverance, and staying power is really, really, really important.“

“It’s a lot like aviation, right?,” said Somerhalder, who is learning to become a pilot. “I live on planes, right. Did 120 flights last year, I’ll do 150 this year. A lot of them will be on my little plane as well. But you plan for things to go wrong.”

“So what do we do if it goes wrong?” he continued. “Well, we do this, this and this. Well, what do we do if it goes right? Well, we do this, this and this. So you’re always in the middle. If it goes wrong, you do this. If it does right, you can do this. Either way, you’re winning and surviving.”

“And not even surviving, you’re thriving and growing,” he added.

Somerhalder went on to share his advice for people who are considering starting businesses with their spouses.

“Remember, it’s supposed to be fun,” he said. “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.”

“For preserving as a human being as a parent as a spouse as a human, you just have to make sure that you don’t take personal guarantees and if you’re in the grind with your spouse make it fun,” Somerhalder emphasized.

SUPERMODEL KATHY IRELAND LAUNCHES COMMERCIAL FISHING CAREER, PREFERS ‘SHARKS IN THE OCEAN’ OVER BUSINESS ONES

In 2021, Somerhalder first revealed that he had faced a major financial crisis and praised Reed for her role in navigating the fallout.

“I’ve never disclosed this publicly, but this woman worked selflessly for 2yrs to build me out of a terrible business situation I got myself into,” Somerhalder wrote in an Instagram post. “Before Nik and I got together I built a company while shooting TVD that was important to me.”

Somerhalder explained that he “invested heavily” and made “huge personal guarantees” to different banks.

NINA DOBREV STUNS IN SULTRY LAKESIDE GETAWAY PHOTO AS FANS PRAISE HER ‘SINGLE GIRL ERA’

Somerhalder said that he was left in financial ruin “due to greed and fraud within that company and fraudulent activities from our biggest customer, not to mention the temporary collapse of the oil and gas industry.”

The “Lost” star did not reveal specific details about the company that led to his financial woes but shared that traveling the world in attempt to pay off the debt left him hospitalized four times in two years.

Somerhalder went on to credit Reed for allowing him the freedom to create his successful liquor company, Brothers Bond Bourbon, with his former “The Vampire Diaries” co-star, Paul Wesley.

“I am where I am BECAUSE of this woman. Brothers Bond Bourbon is actually here today because of this woman. I was able to start my life over because of this woman. Needless to say it’s been the most eye opening and truly humbling experience.”

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

Reed and Somerhalder tied the knot during a surprise “backyard barbecue” wedding in April 2015. The pair’s first child, Bodhi was born two years later in 2017. The couple welcomed a son, whose name they haven’t disclosed, in 2023.

Somerhalder is now involved in several successful business ventures including The Absorption Company, a supplement brand focused on improving how the body absorbs vitamins and nutrients, that he co-founded with Reed in 2024.

LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

During his interview with E! News, which took place at the Beverage Forum in Manhattan Beach, California, Somerhalder reflected on the differences between his acting and business careers.

“Being the star of a successful television show is literally like eating a cupcake compared to being an entrepreneur of two nine-figure businesses that are scaling simultaneously, one of them globally,” he said. “This is not for the faint of heart, but if you love what you do, and you love your products, and you love people and the idea is to bring people together, even in this digital world.”

“You know, I make whiskey and I make vitamins. People go, ‘Well, you know, you make vitamins, but you make alcohol.’ And I’m like, ‘Dude, life’s about balance. Like bringing people together over a campfire or a table.”

“That’s my vibe,” he added.

For all the coverage of the Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini scandal, hardly anyone has discussed the possible implications on the football field.

History already suggests that the New England Patriots face an uphill battle entering the season. There is perhaps no harder position to enter the year than as the Super Bowl runner-up. Here is how the past three have fared the following season:

Kansas City Chiefs, 2025-26: 6-11, missed the playoffs

San Francisco 49ers, 2024-25: 6-11, missed the playoffs

Philadelphia Eagles, 2023-24: lost six of their last seven games and lost in the Wild Card Round

The Patriots also face the sixth-hardest schedule this upcoming season. Last year, they played the easiest schedule, in terms of opponent combined win percentage, by any team since the 1999 Rams, en route to the Super Bowl.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE OUTKICK ANALYSIS

Part of the Super Bowl loss hangover, as it is often called, is its impact on the locker room. Advancing to the Super Bowl requires significant mental and physical sacrifice. It is hard to rebuild that energy after the deflation of going that far only to lose.

Players and coaches can also tend to point fingers and distribute blame. Such friction is even more likely for a team like New England that lost 29-13 and never felt competitive against Seattle.

Now add in that the same locker room must also overcome the biggest story in the NFL this offseason: their coach’s alleged affair with Dianna Russini.

ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!

Vrabel talked last season about how the team minimized the outside noise and held each other accountable, beginning during OTAs in May. That will be harder to do in a few weeks, given the circus surrounding their head coach.

As OutKick discussed this week, the intensity of the story is now so high that it is no longer certain Vrabel will make it to training camp.

Matt Cannata, CEO of Pro Football & Sports Network, predicted Tuesday that the scandal could lead to Vrabel’s resignation or a leave of absence.

“As someone who used to work in public relations and often dealt with crisis communications, I see this whole Russini-Vrabel affair resulting in Vrabel resigning,” Cannata posted on X. “It is going to be hit after hit after hit, and then there will be one bombshell that makes it all spill over the top.”

Consider how small the margins are in the NFL. Most marquee games are decided by just a few points. Every bit of preparation and focus matters. Chiefs coach Andy Reid talked about how lessons learned early in training camp played a role in the team’s back-to-back Super Bowl wins in 2023 and 2024.

Odds are that scrutiny of the scandal will wear on Vrabel and the team. He and Russini are now a topic on cable news programming. Even after the story fades from public view, Vrabel may still have to deal with fallout in his personal life. The matter already caused Vrabel to miss the third day of the NFL Draft last week for “counseling.”

What’s more, the Patriots exceeded expectations last season under Vrabel’s leadership. He kept Stefon Diggs out of trouble (until late in the season) and focused on football. The Patriots are also expected to trade for AJ Brown, a wide receiver known as much for his sideline frustrations and off-field antics as his production.

Vrabel will have a much harder time commanding the respect of a locker room full of young men after seeing him hugging and holding hands with a female reporter while his wife and children were away.

The Patriots are currently favored to exceed 9.5 wins on DraftKings. We would take the under. The schedule, the hangover and the scandal are a lot to overcome.

A down season would be particularly troubling for Vrabel. It is one thing to make national headlines after a trip to the Super Bowl. It is entirely different to follow up that chaos with a disappointing season.