Richard Gere builds a snowman with his children at his home in upstate New York as the family returns to the US for vacation from Spain
Actor Richard Ger has traded sunny Spanish weather for a white Christmas after returning to the US from Europe with his family to spend time at their home in upstate New York – a year after moving abroad.
Gere, 76, and his wife, AlejandraThe 42-year-old moved to Madrid with three of their four sons at the end of 2024, with the actor revealing he wanted his wife to have the chance to spend more time with her family members and loved ones.
However, in a recent interview with Harper’s Bazaar EspañaAlejandra revealed that the couple now plan to split their time between their home in New York and their luxury villa in Spain, days before they give a peek at their idyllic estate in the US.
In a video posted to her Instagram account, the publicist revealed footage of her husband and two of their sons happily playing in the snow in their backyard, carefully building a snowman as the flurries covered them all in fresh powder.
“The night left us a gift, we woke up and everything had changed!” she wrote in the caption. “White on the outside, joy on the inside: the first real snow of the season.”
In the accompanying carousel of photos and videos, Alejandra captured a heartwarming photo of one of her children sitting in the snow next to a frozen body of water, while one of the clips showed two boys bundled up in ski gear as they put the finishing touches on their snowman with their dad.
‘Pretty Woman’ star Gere could be seen advising his children on construction, while also wearing his own cold weather gear, including a large hat and snow boots.
Next to the snowman was a large snow shovel on the ground, as well as several twigs used to give the structure arms.
Several of the family’s dogs were seen in and out of frame as the trio continued their snowman building session.
Gere has owned several homes in upstate New York over the years, as well as a property in Connecticut that he sold shortly before moving to Spain late last year.
He bought his New Canaan, CT, home from the singer Paul Simon for $10.8 million in July 2022, around the same time he sold his historic estate in Pound Ridge, NY, for the staggering price of $21.2 million.
Gere spent years collecting various properties that eventually formed his 49-acre compound, which features a beautiful New England-style main residence with eight bedrooms and ten bathrooms, as well as a library, a sunroom and a huge living room with a beautiful fireplace.
The property was originally put on the market in October 2021 for $28 million.
The actor and his family didn’t leave the area entirely, however, but moved to a smaller property in nearby North Salem, which he purchased for $9.8 million in January 2021.
Records show that Gere sold that second home for a whopping $19 million in October 2023, netting nearly $10 million in profit.
Meanwhile, his decision to sell his Connecticut property sparked outrage after it was revealed that the historic home had been bought for $10.75 million in an off-market deal by developer SBP Homes, who promptly razed the beautiful home to make way for a nine-lot subdivision.
Among those who led the outrage was Simon’s daughter, Luluwho publicly slammed Gere in a series of posts shared to her Instagram Stories in July, accusing him of failing to keep his promise to “take care” of her family home.
“In case anyone was wondering if I still hate Richard Gere, I do!” she wrote alongside a photo of herself flashing a peace sign at the camera.
“He bought my parents’ house,” she continued. “Promised that he would take care of the country if [a] condition of his purchase. Subsequently, it was never actually moved in and was simply sold as nine separate plots to a developer.
“Hate! Him!” she concluded the message, which also included a news story about Gere’s real estate deal.
Lulu then continued her tirade with a rather creepy warning for Gere, sharing a photo of the actor surrounded by photos of her deceased pets, writing, “I hope my dead pets, buried in that backyard, haunt you until you descend into a slow and relentless madness.”
However, Gere never publicly addressed the backlash has talked in detail about his love for his new life in Spain People magazine at an event in New York last month about what he likes most about living there.
“My wife is so happy in Spain, so that’s the best part,” he said at the DOC NYC Visionaries Tribute Luncheon in New York City on November 12. “She has great family and great friends.
“Spanish culture has a very open joy,” he said. The people are “very warm and very open and much less stressed than what you find here in the US
“It’s a very happy place. Just like the Italians. I mean, when you’re in Italy, when you’re in Spain, you’re dealing with Latin cultures that just understand life in a different way than we do here.”
Still, Gere admitted there are some things he misses about his time in the US, especially New York City, which he praised for its “addictive… energy.”
The on-screen icon has shied away from doubling down on his previous criticism of the current state of US politics, which he has been very open about since his move – at one point even going so far as to say he is running for president Donald Trump a “bully and a thug.”
“We are all part of a universe of overlapping pain, sorrow and joy. I see this world we are in now and forget that,” he said at an event in February. “This very foolish tribalism is starting to take over us, where we think we are all separate from each other.
“And we’ve unfortunately elected officials who don’t inspire us in the way we want to be inspired. I’m coming from a place now… we’re in a very dark place in America where we have a bully and a thug who is the president of the United States. But it’s not just in the U.S., it’s everywhere.”
He expressed these views in an interview with a Spanish publication El Pais in May, when he expressed his fears about a lack of kindness in the world.
“If each of us were kind to each other, the world would be different and better. We don’t all respond to wisdom, but we all respond to kindness,” Richard told the publication. “Even in Trump’s case, I’m sure there’s something nice about him. People say he is charming in private.
“Yet the world he has created around him is violent, abusive and ignorant. We’ve never seen many of the things he does before.’
Despite his criticism of the US and its leader, Richard was quick to emphasize that he plans to maintain close ties with his home country – especially since his adult son, Homerstill lives there.
