Richard Gere is settling in to life in the Spanish capital with his wife Alejandra Silva and their two young sons. The Mail on Sunday reported last week that Madrid has warmly welcomed the actor and Gere is already learning Spanish to communicate with the local community. The couple sold their ranch in Connecticut for $8 million and bought a spacious three-storey mansion with a swimming pool and wine cellar in Madrid’s upscale La Moraleja neighbourhood.
Alejandra, who was born in Galicia but grew up in Madrid, is very happy to move to her homeland, where her businessman father Ignacio Silva was for a long time vice-president of the famous football club Real Madrid. In the autumn, she shared a shot on social media of her and her and Richard’s sons – Alexander, 5, and Jams, 4 – happily preparing for the move and the New Year holidays in Madrid. Gere is also stepfather to Alejandra’s eldest son Albert, who is 12.
‘Finally in Spain this year,’ she wrote in the caption.
Insiders claim that on Christmas Day, the family visited the legendary Chocolateria San Gines, a popular cafe in Madrid that serves traditional Spanish sweets like chocolate and churros. The café also makes ‘doughnuts with sauce’ following a traditional recipe since 1894.
‘San Gines was very crowded that day, but they walked in unnoticed,’ said the cafe owner. – ‘They felt at home among everyone else, and Richard looked very happy. He was very humble, pleasant to talk to and smiled all the time. They talked amongst themselves and Richard would ask me questions about where the chocolate came from, in a mixture of Spanish and English. When we couldn’t understand him, his wife helped translate. He tried very hard to speak Spanish. Richard feels at home here.’
