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Richard Gere and his wife, Alejandra Silvaopens up about their new life in Spain.
“The kids didn’t want me to leave this morning,” said Gere, 71, speaking to Elle Spain alongside Silva, 41. “They asked me about their mother, and I told them she was in a meeting.”
“And where are you going, Dad?” Gere continued. “To meet too,” he replied.
Back Elle Spainhis side of the family surprises the crew. “It’s like landing in a different reality than many imagine,” the reporter writes, changing people’s perception of the actor.
However, it is a part of Gere that Silva has known about for years.
“Richard is a very loyal and present father. He loves reading them stories. It seems like an ideal picture, but it’s true. He’s a great dad,” she said.
“He doesn’t cook,” he added. “I do, but when I cook, he plays the guitar.”
Earlier this year, Gere and Silva made the decision to leave their life in America and move to Spain, Silva’s native country.
Before marrying each other in 2018 after meeting each other in Italy in 2014, Silva moved to America for Gere.
In an interview with Jimmy FallonGere said it was time to return the favor.
“My wife is Spanish, and she gave me about seven years here, so we’re going to spend a few years in Madrid with her family. Our children are bilingual, so they are going to thrive there.”
Now, in their interview with Elle Spainhe says life in Spain is great.
“The truth is that you see us in our momentum. We are happier than ever,” he said of being in Spain. “She is, because she’s at home and I’m because, if she’s happy, I’m happy.”
In Silva’s words, she and Gere are “like soulmates.”
“We have the same values, we see the world in the same way and from the first moment we felt that we had known each other for a long time. And this only happens once, if it happens at all… We were united by the karma of our past lives,” he continued.
Silva and Gere share two children together, 5-year-old Alexander and 4-year-old James. Silva has an 11-year-old son, Albert, from her first marriage, who also moved to Spain.
Gere also has a 24-year-old son, Homer, from a previous marriage, who remained in New York working on his own acting career, Elle reports.
And while change is difficult, Gere said it is easier to change oneself than it is to try to change other people.
“We can all reduce this sense of ego, of self. And that’s when real change happens,” said Gere, expanding on the idea of change. “My wife shines for her open mind and true sense of gratitude. So connecting with that, however you do it, whether you see it as spirit or religion, love or compassion … it’s infinite.”
“One of the things that unites us the most and what made us fall deeply in love was our activist heart,” added Silva.
As well as being on a cover Elle Spainthe couple were also celebrated for their work with the Sierra and Mar Project with the ELLE Eco Award.
The Sierra a Mar project is a “conservation and sustainable development initiative focused on protecting and restoring coastal ecosystems in Mexico, especially along the region where the mountains meet the ocean, by promoting environmentally responsible practices and economic growth on for local communities.”
“Being an activist leads you to infuse your values into the world to make it better,” says Silva.
“It’s about giving a voice to people who don’t have one and raising awareness. It has a very deep meaning and we have to appreciate where to put our energy, but, no matter how small, we can always contribute.”
In addition to their environmental work, Silva and Gere are also passionate about ending homelessness.
“The only reason why Richard and I are here in Madrid is to be part of the board of the NGO Home of Yes ,” she shared. “We want to help this country end homelessness. Our aim is that, within 5 years, no one is sleeping on the street.”
“The path of empathy transcends religions,” added Silva.
