Daphne and Ian Fig

Daphne and Ian Fig Bio

Daphne and Ian Fig are the couple behind Castle Impossible, which follows their journey to renovate and preserve the legacy of a 500-year-old chateau in Lesigny, France, inherited from Daphne’s maternal grandparents.

A grade apart, Daphne and Ian first met and dated in high school in California before going their separate ways when Daphne left for community college in 2009. She transferred to the University of California Berkley when she was 21 to study Conservation Resource Studies, achieving a Bachelor in Science. Ian followed in his grandfather’s footsteps and joined the US Air Force. It wasn’t until 2015 when they would finally reconnect — Ian was out of the military living in Arizona and Daphne had just finished at UC Berkley, and they were both home visiting for the holidays. They endured a long-distance relationship while Ian studied in Arizona, and in 2017 he transferred to California State University Monterey Bay, so they moved into a rental together. But not long after, Daphne received a call from her grandma to say that her grandpa was doing poorly, and she needed her help.

In 2018, Daphne went to France and Ian took a 6-month study abroad program in Paris so he could be with her. It became clear that the chateau was not creating enough income to remain financially stable and to support her grandfather’s care bills; worried they could completely lose the chateau, she put her own career plans on hold to help make the chateau profitable. Daphne and Ian were engaged in March 2020 and married in a private ceremony on New Year’s Eve that same year. Her grandfather sadly passed away in November 2020.

Daphne worked hard to build up the chateau business, hosting weddings and increasing their filming bookings. It was a small glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe they could save the chateau. In August 2021, Ian moved to France to help her, they lived in Paris with her grandmother and continued to work from the chateau every day. In 2022, their hard work paid off and they were finally able to move into the Hunters Lodge on the domain and begin their new life at the chateau.