Ian Somerhalder and Nikki Reed's Relationship Timeline
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Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder had a whirlwind start to their romance.
The Twilight actress and The Vampire Diaries actor were first linked in 2014, and by 2015, they were married. Since then, the couple have welcomed a daughter, Bodhi Soleil, and have started their own respective businesses. In January 2023, the pair confirmed they're expecting their second baby after "years of dreaming."
Despite starring in two of the most iconic vampire franchises, Reed and Somerhalder prefer their quiet life on a farm to the pace of Hollywood. They are also fairly private about both their relationship and their daughter. However, Reed and Somerhalder do share the occasional glimpse into their lives on social media and are never shy about expressing their love for one another in sweet Instagram tributes.
From supporting each other's careers to traveling the world together, here is a complete timeline of Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder's relationship.
July 20, 2014: Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder are first linked
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Reed and Somerhalder first sparked dating rumors in July 2014, when they were seen on a PDA-packed trip to a farmer's market in Studio City, California.
A few weeks later, the couple went public with their relationship while attending an Entertainment Weekly party at Comic-Con.
January 15, 2015: Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder are engaged
Six months after they were first spotted together, Reed and Somerhalder got engaged. The news of the couple's engagement came a year after Reed announced her divorce from American Idol musician Paul McDonald and about two years after Somerhalder split from his Vampire Diaries costar Nina Dobrev.
"They're so happy!" an insider told PEOPLE at the time.
February 27, 2015: Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder discuss their relationship
At the 3rd annual Noble Awards in Beverly Hills, both Reed and Somerhalder were honored for their respective work with charities.
While speaking to reporters on the red carpet, the couple opened up about the ease of their relationship and revealed the one thing they argue about: the color of Somerhalder's eyes. "He thinks his eyes are ocean blue and I think they're aqua," Reed joked.
They also discussed their shared passion for giving back and making the world a better place.
"We do wake up in the morning and talk about those things," Reed said. "That's the revelation that I've had in the last couple of years is understanding my role in this, and that one individual can actually do something, can change the world."
She continued, "And so what's actually I think nurtured this long friendship that we've had is that we are passionate about similar things."
April 26, 2015: Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder get married
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A few months after they got engaged, Reed and Ian Somerhalder tied the knot in a romantic ceremony at Topanga Canyon in Malibu, California. The day after the wedding, Somerhalder confirmed the nuptials, tweeting, "Most beautiful morning ever…"
May 2, 2015: Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder enjoy their honeymoon
Nikki Reed/Instagram
The couple enjoyed a romantic honeymoon in Tulum, Mexico, a few weeks later. Reed shared a photo of him planting a kiss on his new wife, captioned, "Salty...sandy...sticky...sunburned. The best. I love this human. My human."
The two then traveled to their second destination, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where they enjoyed a candlelight dinner.
September 11, 2015: Ian Somerhalder discusses newlywed life with Nikki Reed
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, the Lost alum shared how much he was enjoying newlywed life and discussed starting a family with Reed.
"It's the most incredible thing to be happy and secure in something," he said. "It's a pretty crazy time and place to bring a child into this turbulent and insane world — but I really can't wait to do it."
January 30, 2016: Ian Somerhalder says waking up to Nikki Reed is "pure bliss"
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Somerhalder talked about how happy he was with his new wife. "Look who I get to wake up with," he said. "We're under kitties and dogs, and it's just pure bliss." At that point, the animal-loving couple owned a variety of pets together, including dogs, cats and horses.
February 14, 2016: Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder celebrate their first Valentine's Day as a married couple
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For their first Valentine's Day as a married couple, the newlyweds fittingly spent the day at a charity event. Reed and Somerhalder both served as Monarchs of the Mystic Krewe of Mardi Paws — which benefits nonprofit animal welfare organizations in Louisiana — where Somerhalder is from.
June 22, 2016: Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder collaborate on a project
The activist pair teamed up in 2016 and combined their recent projects to benefit a charitable cause. Partnering with the brand Graziela Gems, Reed created a 24-piece jewelry collection with proceeds going to the Ian Somerhalder Foundation, which is committed to helping wildlife in various ways.
"There's not much that we don't do together," the actress, who is also the vice president of ISF, told PEOPLE about the collaboration.
April 26, 2017: Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder celebrate their second wedding anniversary
To commemorate their second wedding anniversary, Reed and Somerhalder shared romantic tributes to each other on Instagram, along with photos from their wedding day.
"To the most amazing human in the world," Somerhalder captioned his post. "Thank you for 2 incredible years of marriage. Thank you for being my best friend the hardest-working, kindest, most patient and most talented woman I've ever known."
Reed captioned her own tribute, in part, "Every day gets better, every moment calling for even more. Navigating the waters of life with you is the greatest and most rewarding adventure I've ever known. We climb, we grow, and we laugh at all of it. Thank you for being exactly who you are, and for loving all of me."
May 4, 2017: Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder announce they're expecting
In May 2017, the pair announced on Instagram that they were expecting their first child together. "Hi Little One. I know you, but only because I feel you. How is it possible to love someone so much already?" the Twilight star captioned a photo of Somerhalder kissing her baby bump. "All I know for sure is it's the strongest feeling I've ever felt. We've been sharing this body for quite some time, and we've already experienced so much together…We can't wait to meet you… Love, your parents."
Somerhalder posted the same photo and discussed their decision to keep the pregnancy news a secret at first. "I can't think of anything more exciting than this next chapter and we wanted you to hear this from us first," he began. "This has been the most special time of our lives and we wanted to keep it between the three of us for as long as possible so we could enjoy this time with each other and our little one who is growing so fast."
July 25, 2017: Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder welcome a baby
A few months later, PEOPLE confirmed that Reed and Somerhalder had welcomed a daughter, Bodhi Soleil, on July 25, 2017.
Reed had previously shared that she and Somerhalder would take "one month of silence" after the birth in her cover story for Fit Pregnancy and Baby.
"We'll take the baby's first month for ourselves," she said. "Just the three of us, no visitors, and we're turning off our phones too, so there's no expectation for us to communicate … You don't get those first 30 days back, and we want to be fully present."
August 21, 2017: Ian Somerhalder honors Nikki Reed after welcoming daughter
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Just weeks after Reed gave birth, Somerhalder penned a loving tribute to his wife on Instagram. Alongside a series of maternity photos from her Fit Pregnancy and Baby cover story, he wrote, "Seeing these images reminds me of those amazing 9 months that you sacrificed your whole being to grow our little one. The kindness, the beauty and organic nature of these photos makes me so very proud."
The new dad continued, "You brought such fun and such power into our lives being pregnant but you literally brought the word sexy into pregnancy," he wrote. "We all see it. Thank you for being my partner in this life and thank you for inspiring not just me but all others who read, hear or see what your soul gives us."
September 8, 2017: Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder make their first red carpet appearance as parents
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Two months after welcoming their daughter, the couple made their first public appearance at EIF's XQ Super School Live.
Somerhalder shared a selfie of him and Reed inside the event on Instagram to honor their parent's night out.
December 8, 2017: Nikki Reed reveals the secret to her marriage with Ian Somerhalder
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In an Instagram post honoring Somerhalder's 39th birthday, Reed reflected on the secret to their marriage. "I get it now. The secret to our long happy marriage is this: I need to be in bed by 930, and you need to start manifesting all your dreams at 10. Done. As long as we always find each other for breakfast :)," she wrote. "Happy birthday to the best partner and father in the world, 39 looks damn good on you. We love you❤️."
December 1, 2018: Ian Somerhalder supports Nikki Reed's new business
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Ahead of the opening of Reed's holiday pop-up shop for her sustainably jewelry collection, Bayou with Love, Somerhalder took a moment to honor his wife's hard work on Instagram.
Alongside a photo of the entrepreneur setting up the storefront he wrote, "To watch you this amazing woman that I'm married to develop, design, curate and inspire so many others not just in the business world but women and men to become conscious consumers. I see her up late, then in the early morning breastfeeding, running a company, running a household, fostering animals in need all the while traveling for meetings and being the most amazing mother and supportive wife."
He continued, "I've never seen anyone so capable and inspiring. Thank you my beautiful wife for showing us all that our dreams are possible with hard work, determination with purpose. I'm in awe..."
December 11, 2018: Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder discuss how their lifestyle changed after becoming parents
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In an interview with PEOPLE, Reed opened up about how she and Somerhalder's lifestyle changed after the birth of their daughter Bodhi — namely, how they now travel together. "We live such crazy nomadic lifestyles all over the place, on planes, and [we've had] to uproot and move," she said. "Now that we're a family, the whole family goes together so that Mom and Dad can both be there at every second to witness every milestone and everything that's happening."
She added, "It's kind of like you pick up the whole house and move it and set the house down. We definitely are feeling right now like we miss home."
February 15, 2019: Ian Somerhalder honors Nikki Reed and daughter Bodhi on Valentine's Day
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On Valentine's Day 2019, Somerhalder gave both of the women in his life a special shout-out on Instagram. He posted a picture of Reed lying poolside with their daughter, captioned, "My two forever Valentines. No filter is needed for these two. How did I get so lucky...? Happy Valentine's Day to the most special girls in the world. Thank you for enriching my life beyond the scope of imagination. Really and truly. Love always, Baby Daddy/Daddy."
June 21, 2020: Nikki Reed pens a sweet message to Ian Somerhalder on Father's Day
It was Reed's turn to celebrate her husband on Father's Day 2020. To honor the occasion, she penned a touching tribute to Somerhalder on Instagram and praised his skills as a father. Alongside a rare shot of the actor snuggled up to Bodhi, she wrote, "Happy Father's Day to this Papa right here. Thank you for being so in love with fatherhood." She then listed various reasons why Somerhalder makes a great father, including his insistence on "being the one to wake [Bodhi] up because you love her sleepy eyes."
May 21, 2021: Ian Somerhalder reveals that Nikki Reed got him out of a tough business situation
In a post on Instagram, the actor not only wished his wife a happy birthday, but he also credited her with helping him out of a "terrible business situation" that left him in debt.
"Before Nik and I got together I built a company while shooting TVD that was important to me. I invested heavily, I made huge personal guarantees to banks," he wrote. "However due to greed and fraud within that company and fraudulent activities from our biggest customer...I was left in an EIGHT- FIGURE hole…This woman here decided that she didn't want to see her husband ruin his body/mind/spirit and pulled up her bootstraps and got down in the trenches assembling a team to get to the negotiating table to find a way out…I am where I am BECAUSE of this woman."
May 26, 2022: Nikki Reed talks moving to a farm with Ian Somerhalder
Reed discussed her and Somerhalder's decision to relocate their family to a farm "very far outside [Los Angeles]" during a May 2022 interview with PEOPLE.
"It was a turning point for me," the mom of one said. "I made a conscious choice to give my child the most normal life possible."
Reed and Somerhalder's daughter Bodhi is "learning to grow things, getting your hands dirty in the soil" and the couple is enjoying the quieter, slower lifestyle.
"My greatest joy is watching my daughter run through the dirt with her shoes off," Reed said.
A few months later, Somerhalder told PEOPLE their life on the farm is "magic."
"I think what the pandemic sort of did was show us that moments matter. Birthdays matter. Holidays matter. These small little granular moments with one another really matter," the Brother's Bond founder said. "And that is why Nikki and I find that rural or even urban/rural lifestyle — which I think a lot of people are getting into, whether it's permaculture, building food forests — we're past the point of just thinking that we're going to stop all this by not using plastic straws and driving electric cars."
Jan. 9, 2023: Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder announce they're expecting a second baby
Reed and Somerhalder confirmed they're going to be parents of two with posts on their respective Instagram accounts.
Somerhalder shared a photo of Reed holding Bodhi in one hand as she cradles her bump in the other with the caption, "All I've ever wanted from the time I was a young boy was to have a big family. Thank you Nik for giving me that gift."
He continued, "ROUND TWO HERE WE GO!!!!! Thank you thank you to this incredible human for the gift of life and love, for being the most incredible mom and working so hard to make dreams come true!!!"
Sharing the same photo, Reed wrote about her gratitude for her pregnancy and excitement to share the news.
"2023 celebrating life🖤Years of dreaming, manifesting and praying over this very moment. So much love. What a gift," she began her caption.
"As all of you know, I have very strong boundaries with social media, especially when it comes to children and what I choose to put out into the world. Thank you so much for honoring that, and for sending positivity and kindness and LOVE. Some things are too good not to share :)," she concluded, tagging Somerhalder as the photographer.
March 9, 2023: Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder attend pre-Oscars celebration in Los Angeles
With Somerhalder on her arm, Reed showed off her growing baby belly at the 2023 RCGD Global Pre-Oscars Celebration. The Twilight alum wowed in a flowing red gown, while Somerhalder looked ruggedly handsome in a gray suit and cowboy boots.
