WHAT IS IT REALLY LIKE TO INHERIT A 500-YEAR-OLD CASTLE?

Daphne Reckert and Ian Figueira’s story feels sounds like something out of a movie. The California high school sweethearts inherit a castle, move to France, and take on the challenge of renovating the 500-year-old property. But that’s exactly what is happening to the couple, and they’re taking HGTV viewers along for the ride on the new series Castle Impossible.

Daphne grew up visiting her grandfather at Château de Lésigny, his 133-acre property outside of Paris. When Daphne’s grandfather passed away in 2020, she suddenly became the castle’s caretaker. And, while many people would shrink at the responsibility, Daphne and her now-husband Ian have embraced it.

Daphne grew up visiting the castle every summer from the time she was 3 years old. Her grandfather first brought up the subject of her taking it on when she was 18 or 19, and her mother decided to pass on the inheritance. But, for Ian, his introduction was very different. He admits that when Daphne first mentioned that her grandfather owned a castle when they were in high school, he thought it was a joke. Years later, she invited him to visit the property in France, and he said, “That’s real?” On their first visit, Daphne gave him a quick tour and then left to run errands with her grandmother, and he quickly found himself lost. Fast-forward to the present day, and he’s renovating the huge castle.

As you can imagine, the process of renovating a centuries-old castle in a foreign country has come with a lot of red tape and unexpected expenses. Thankfully, Daphne and Ian were able to capitalize on her grandfather’s existing wedding business to help pay off their massive $1 million tax bill. Because her grandfather passed away in November of 2020, the bureaucracy was delayed due to COVID restrictions. Daphne explains that the delay was actually a blessing: “I was actually get enough time to figure everything out.” In that time, they tripled their wedding sales.

While Daphne was navigating things in France, Ian was working two jobs in case they needed to fall back on their original plan: buying a small plot of land and building a tiny home in California.

They were in limbo for a while. Every week, Ian says, “There was a new hurdle to jump through to try to figure out if it’s even possible, and meanwhile, I was like, that’s fine. I’ve got work here, we can have a tiny home, not a big deal. And then when you realize that this is something her grandfather put all of his life’s work into, it’s just such a shame to just let it be auctioned off and just lost like that.” They decided to “fight tooth and nail” to keep Daphne’s family legacy alive.

It turns out establishing ownership was only the first of many hurdles. The couple has been faced with rotting wood, insect infestations, and mounting expenses, just to get modern amenities like heat, electricity, and running water.

The artistic duo is now busy putting their own touch on the castle, parts of which have been around for 800 years. Daphne explains, “The Renaissance chateau is from the 1600s, and then that has been adapted, and even the outbuildings have been adapted over time. It’s like a time machine if you walk through different areas, because when you’re in the dungeon, it feels like Game of Thrones, but when you’re in the marble staircase, it feels like Versailles. And then you go to the farmhouse and you’re like, this is a country home.”

Castle Impossible premieres on April 29 on HGTV and will stream the next day on Max.

2025-04-29T11:48:27Z