Nikki Reed & Ian Somerhalder Apologize, Are Grateful For Discussion On Reproductive Coercion

After their story about how Ian Somerhalder threw out his wife Nikki Reed's birth control caused a controversy online, the couple issued an apology on their respective Twitter accounts.

“To anyone who has been affected by reproductive coercion, we are deeply sorry," their public apology began. "That is an extremely serious issue, and women’s rights is something that is incredibly important to both of us. It is something we’ve been very vocal about, and something that is very close to our hearts.”

It started when Somerhalder shared what he thought was a humorous story on the podcast Dr. Berlin's Informed Pregnancy, about how he threw out Reed's birth control pills after they discussed their desire to have children. Reed then said that this was how she realized they were going to try get pregnant.

The two actors shared that they never anticipated that their story would be received in this way, seeing it as their own personal story, but were grateful for the opportunity to call attention to a much more serious subject. “However, if this somehow sheds light on a topic that definitely needs mainstream attention, then we are grateful for the unintended consequence," they wrote, adding "It’s a shame that outlets chose this as their way into a very serious discussion, as we are certainly not qualified to be the faces of this topic,” the pair said.

Reed was quick to refute the accusations and misinterpretation of their story calling it "irresponsible journalism." Beyond misinterpretation as to the tone of the story, many called the couple out for the insensitivity of the story in light of women who find themselves in manipulative and abusive relationships. This lead to an apology from both Reed and Somerhalder.