Ian Somerhalder and Nikki Reed, who had their first child, Bodhi Soleil, in July, recently revealed the disturbing way in which they decided to start a family.
The couple was on the most recent episode of “Dr. Berlin’s Informed Pregnancy” podcast when the host asked the couple when they knew they were ready to have children.
In response, the “Twilight” actress said: “When [Somerhalder] threw out all my birth control pills.”
Somerhalder said that while they were on vacation in Barcelona, Spain, he went into Reed’s purse without her knowledge and took out her birth control pills after the couple had discussed having kids at dinner with friends. “The Vampire Diaries” actor explained:
“We decided that we wanted to have children together, and it was just time. But unbeknownst to poor Nikki, she didn’t realize that I was going to go in her purse and take out her birth control. By the way, it was the beginning of the pack, so I had to pop all those suckers out. It is a lot of work, especially after a little bit of sangria.”
Somerhalder said there is a video on his phone of the moment recorded by a friend. Reed is apparently also featured in the video “freaking out” that her pills are gone.
The couple laughed throughout the retelling of the incident, with Somerhalder eventually admitting: “Actually, now thinking about it, I guess I kind of decided [to start a family].”
Some people on Twitter were horrified by the story:
Reed lashed out at Cosmopolitan magazine on Twitter for an article that covered the issue, calling Somerhalder’s action “some unconsented bullshit.” The actress said the article blew a joke out of proportion and “cast a dark shadow” over the joy of her child’s birth.
“You have a platform, write about things that matter by using truthful stories, not gossip,” Reed wrote.
Reed has been an advocate for sexual assault victims and was featured in Lady Gaga’s “Til It Happens To You” video in 2015 depicting assault and the effect on victims.
Reproductive coercion, a term one Twitter user mentioned, is a form of intimate partner abuse in which one partner forces unprotected sex to increase the likelihood of pregnancy against their partner’s will, among other acts.
To find out more about reproductive coercion, click here.
This story has been updated to include Nikki Reed's response to Cosmopolitan.
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