Shhh . . . the baby’s sleeping. The Vampire Diaries actor Ian Somerhalder tells Us Weekly that he politely removed himself from a cast text chain. But it’s not because he isn’t interested in keeping up with his former costars. With his and wife Nikki Reed’s 11-month-old daughter, Bodhi, sleeping in their room, the actor, 39, was nervous about the buzzing waking the baby.
“It was such a big group,” Somerhalder explained to Us on Monday, June 18. And many live in different time zones. While Paul Wesley is currently in Paris, Somerhalder is based in Los Angeles. “My phone is blowing up like crazy because he wants to send a smiley emoji to all seven of us.”
That just won’t fly now that Somerhalder is a dad and keeps his phone on at all times in case of an emergency. “When you’re a parent, you don’t have the luxury of turning your phone off,” Somerhalder revealed. “So it’s just blowing up and pinging and clinging and vibrating. I just had to say, ‘Guys, I have to bow out of this one. Gotta do a solo.’ So we all branched off and now we all talk and chat individually.” (Somerhalder played troublemaker Damon on the CW hit that aired from 2009 to 2017.)
Of course, Bodhi isn’t Somerhalder’s only baby. The star and Twilight actress Reed, 30, have three dogs, three cats, and some horses. Somerhalder, who partnered with Royal Canin for National Take Your Cat to the Vet Day on August 22, believes soothing scared animals helped him to be a better dad. “I’ve held so many of my cats and dogs whether it’s on airplanes or during storms,” he told Us. “You [learn] how to make them feel safe and and secure. And it’s so funny now being a parent, you do that with your human baby.”
Meanwhile, Somerhalder is very passionate about Royal Canin’s annual campaign. “One cat for every 5 dogs goes to the vet, which is not good,” he told Us. ‘“What’s crazy is that there are 10 million more cats in the country than there are dogs. We’re encouraging everyone to make their appointments, and by the way, any day is a great day, but August 22 is the day.”
With reporting by Carly Sloane.
