Richard Gere Sells Connecticut House for $11M After Revealing He’s Leaving the U.S. to Be Closer to In-Laws

The ‘Pretty Woman’ actor and former PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive (1999) bought the house, formerly owned by Paul Simon and Edie Brickell, in 2022

Richard Gere has sold his Connecticut home for $10.75 million after revealing his plans to relocate to Spain.

PEOPLE’s 1999 Sexiest Man Alive, 75, bought his house in the town of New Canaan in 2022 for $10.8 million — $50,000 more than what he sold it for — from Paul Simon and Edie Brickell, according to local outlet the New Canaan Advertiser.

The singer-songwriter couple had also sold at a significant loss, having paid $16.5 million for it 17 years earlier, per the outlet.

Gere lived in the home with his wife, Alejandra Silva, for two years and reportedly wanted to turn the property into a farm at one point. The 1938 house has six bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, a pool, multiple gardens and a three-bedroom guest cottage. The property encompasses 32 acres and features “period details” throughout, according to a previous listing with Sothebys.

However, the actor recently opened up about his wishes to move abroad.

Since they married in 2018, Gere and Silva have lived in the United States, but he shared in an April 2024 interview with Vanity Fair Spain that he wanted to spend more time in his wife’s native Spain, and allow her to be closer to her relatives.

“For Alejandra, it will be wonderful to be closer to her family, her lifelong friends and her culture,” he said of Silva, 41, “She was very generous in giving me six years living in my world, so it is only fair that I give her at least another six living in hers,”

Madrid will be a “great adventure,” Gere said — for himself, Silva, and their two children Alexander, 5, and James, 4, who are moving with them. (Gere is also dad to son Homer, 24, whom he shares with second wife, Carey Lowell. Silva also shares a son, Albert, 11, with ex-husband Govind Friedland.

“I love Spain and the ability of the Spanish people to live transmitting joy and happiness,” Gere said.

As of the time of his VF interview, Gere also said he has a house “in the countryside near New York,” so he seemingly will still have a foothold Stateside.

The pair met in 2014 in Positano, Italy at the celebrity-favorite Hotel Treville, according to the outlet.

A source close to the couple told PEOPLE around the time of their wedding in 2018 that the two were “extraordinarily happy,” adding, “They’re so comfortable with each other, have fun together and are looking forward to their future together.”

In August 2024, Silva celebrated Gere’s 75th birthday with a sweet post on Instagram.

“After 11 amazing years together, it still feels like the day we first met,” she wrote. “The journey we’ve shared, the beautiful family we’ve built, and the memories we’ve created are more than I could have ever dreamed of. You make my life better in every way, and I’m so grateful to have you by my side.”