Ian Somerhalder: 'I instantly knew Nikki Reed would be my children's mum'

It took Ian Somerhalder a split second to realise Nikki Reed would be the mother of his future children.

The actors first began dating in 2014 and after a whirlwind romance, they became engaged in February, 2015 and tied the knot two months later in April (15).

Over a year since becoming man and wife, Ian insists it's only a matter of time before they start a family, revealing they both knew they'd make perfect parents the instant they fell in love.

“The second we were around each other, and not (dating) other people, we just knew," he reveals in the November (16) issue of Modern Luxury magazine. "I will one day have amazing children with my beautiful wife. Absolutely, definitely. I live with someone who strives to find happiness and peace in the smallest things – whether it’s sitting for five minutes under a tree or getting out into the country and spending time on our horses or even just going for a walk around the lake or riding a boat.

"I am so blessed that I did, indeed, find this human being that can deal with me and is also the most caring, compassionate person I’ve ever known. That’s why I wake up happy.”

Ian and Nikki are both environmentalists and animal lovers, who are passionate about cleaning up the planet and protecting ecosystems, and the 37-year-old The Vampire Diaries star notes he will be sharing his love for the earth with his kids, just like his dad passed on the knowledge to him when he was growing up in the swamps of Louisiana.

“I grew up pretty impoverished in the Southeast, in a very delicate ecosystem on a lake that borders New Orleans," Ian shares. "There had to be a balance between nature and human. My father always taught me to find that balance. You have to give back what you take.”