HGTV Couples
Meet ‘Castle Impossible’s Daphne Reckert & Ian Figueira: Their Marriage, Family & More
HGTV’s newest couple is Daphne Reckert and Ian Figueira. They made their debut on the network in April as stars of the new series Castle Impossible.
The show follows the pair as they renovate an old chateau in France and try to keep it profitable. Reckert and Figueira inherited the 500-year-old estate from her maternal grandparents. Scroll down to learn more about the longtime lovers and their relationship.
How did Daphne Reckert and Ian Figueira meet?
Reckert and Figueira are high school sweethearts! They dated during their high school years in California, but ended up splitting in 2009 when their paths took them in different directions. She went to college, while he joined the U.S. Air Force. Reckert attended community college before transferring to University of California Berkley when she was 21.
The couple reconnected in 2015 when they were both home in California for the holidays. At the time, Figueira was living in Arizona and Reckert was just finishing up her UC Berkley education.
Figueira returned to Arizona, and he and Reckert dated long-distance as he finished his studies. Finally, in 2017, he transferred to California State University Monterey Bay, and they moved in together. The following year, Reckert relocated to France so she could help her grandmother care for her ailing grandfather (Figueira studied abroad in Paris so he could be by Reckert’s side).
As Reckert worked to help her grandparents keep their chateau profitable, she and Figueira got engaged in March 2020. They tied the knot that December, and Figueira officially moved to France with his wife in August 2021.
Do Daphne Reckert and Ian Figueira have kids?
No, the couple does not have any children (at least not yet).
What is the story behind Castle Impossible?
After Reckert’s grandfather passed away in 2020, she inherited the chateau and worked hard to build it back up. Putting her own career plans on hold, Reckert put everything into saving the castle by hosting weddings, building up business, and more.
In 2022, she and Figueira moved into the Hunters Lodge in the castle and started their new lives as a married couple. Castle Impossible documents their lives there, as well as their work to keep the estate running.
“If we don’t keep up the renovations, the chateau will become a ruin,” Reckert told HGTV. “If we lose the chateau, we lose everything.”
Where is Castle Impossible located?
The castle is in Lésigny, France. It sits on 130 acres of land about 12 miles outside of Paris.
Castle Impossible, Tuesdays, 9/8c, HGTV
