Richard Gere’s former Connecticut mansion has been torn down, sparking a very bitter public reaction from Paul Simon’s daughter Lulu Simon, who called the property her “childhood home.”
Weeks before the news of the demolishing, she said she wished for her pets buried in the property’s backyard to “haunt” the actor till he descends into “a slow and unrelenting madness.”
The Hollywood star sold the New Canaan property for $10.75 million in October 2024 before moving to Spain with his wife Alejandra Silva and their kids. He said he is now “happier than ever” after the movie.
Richard Gere’s former Connecticut mansion has been torn down, sparking a very bitter public reaction from Paul Simon’s daughter
Richard sold the sprawling property in an off-market deal to real estate developers in October 2024 before moving to Spain to be closer to Alejandra’s family.
Reports have confirmed that the couple’s former home has officially been demolished, and the new owners will be using the site to construct a nine-property development.
“We recently checked in and the house has been taken down,” Reggie Young, founder of Hudson Valley House Parts, told People.
Hudson Valley House Parts had worked with the property’s current developers to salvage some of the architectural elements from the home built in the 1930s.
“We are grateful that the buyers allowed us time to salvage and get everything out,” Reggie added.
Richard and Alejandra sold their New Canaan property for $10.75 million in October 2024
“Many of the items from this project are still in our inventory at Delaware Valley House Parts in Lambertville, New Jersey and will eventually find homes where they are reused,” he added.
An Instagram update from Hudson Valley House Parts earlier this year revealed that the mansion’s Greek revival front portico, cast stone wellhead and carved limestone mantel were “on their way to grace new homes across the country.”
They noted that the home’s French door sets, steel bay windows, casement windows, and other items were still available at the time.
The home that used to sit on the 32-acre land was a 8,800-square-foot mansion with six bedrooms and seven bathrooms.
The property also boasted three powder rooms, several fireplaces, a pond, a courtyard, a pool, and an additional 2,400-square-foot guest house.
The home built in the 1930s boasted six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a courtyard, pool, and a guest house
Richard bought the property for $10.8 million in 2022 from singer Paul Simon.
The Simon & Garfunkel musician and his wife Edie Brickell purchased the mansion for $16.5 million in 2002 and lived there for years before selling it to the actor.
Paul Simon and his family lived in the mansion before Richard bought the property for $10.8 million in 2022
Paul’s daughter Lulu shared a message on Instagram last month about how the Pretty Woman star had “promised” to take care of her childhood home.
“Just in case anyone was wondering if I still hate Richard Gere – I do!” the 30-year-old wrote in an Instagram Story.
“He bought my childhood home,” she added. “Promised he would take care of the land as [a] condition of his purchase. Proceeded to never actually move in & just sold it to a developer as 9 separate plots.”
She also shared a photo of old childhood pets edited to surround the actor.
“I hope my d**d pets buried in that backyard haunt you until you descend into a slow and unrelenting madness,” she wrote.
Since leaving behind his life in the US, Richard spoke positively about living in Spain with his family.
“The truth is that you are seeing us in our momentum. We are happier than ever,” he told Elle España in January. “[Alejandra], because she is at home and I because, if she is happy, I am happy.”
“I hope my d**d pets buried in that backyard haunt you until you descend into a slow and unrelenting madness,” Lulu wrote
Richard and Alejandra met in 2014 and tied the knot at his Pound Ridge estate in 2018.
They welcomed sons Alexander, 5, and James, 4, who are currently being raised in Spain.
Alejandra is also a mother to son Albert, 11, from a previous relationship, while Richard shares son Homer James, 24, with his ex-wife Carey Lowell.
“Alejandra was very generous in giving me six years of living in my world, so it’s only fair that I give her at least another six years of living in hers,” Richard told Vanity Fair Spain in April 2024.
He recently spoke about how his “wife is so happy” living in Spain.
“Her family is there, her culture is there, [our] youngest kids are growing up there, their Spanish is perfect,” he told Page Six at the City Harvest Annual Gala in April this year.
Alejandra showered her husband with praises as she and the An Officer and a Gentleman actor spoke to Elle España together in a January interview.
“Richard is a very devoted and present father. He loves to read them stories,” she said. “It seems like an idyllic photo, but it’s true. He’s a great dad.”
Alejandra recently spoke about Richard being a devoted father and said they are “soulmates”
“He doesn’t cook,” she noted. “I do it, but when I cook, he plays the guitar.”
She said she and her husband are like “soulmates” and have “the same values.”
“We see the world in the same way and from the first moment we felt like we have known each other for a long time,” she went on to say. “And this only happens once, if it happens at all … We were united by the karma of our past lives.”
“Get a job girl and buy your own house,” the internet said after Lulu’s message
