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Alejandra Silva and Richard Gere announced they were having their first child together in August 2018, just four months after the couple tied the knot. The news was first broken via Spanish newspaper ABC on August 8. The couple were first pictured together in June 2015. At that time the Spanish-language version of Vanity Fair said that Silva had never seen one of Gere’s movies, including Pretty Woman. Silva is 35, Richard Gere is 68, he turns 69 on August 31. The couple divides their time between Madrid and upstate New York. Silva is a native of the Spanish city of La Coruna. Gere, who has frequented Spain for years, has been a family friend of the Silva family for more than 15 years.
Gere has a child, Homer, 18, from his previous marriage to actress Carey Lowell. Gere divorced Lowell in October 2016, three years after first announcing their separation. During his younger days, Gere was famously linked to Priscilla Presley and Kim Basinger as well as a long-term relationship with actress with Penelope Milford during the 1970s. Between 1991 and 1995, Gere was involved in one of the most famous relationships of all time as he was married to supermodel Cindy Crawford. It was not until 2002 when Gere began dating Carey Lowell.
Here’s what you need to know about the love of Richard Gere’s life:
1. Gere Got Silva Interested in Buddhism
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People Magazine reported that Gere and Silva were married in a civil ceremony in New York in April 2018. The wedding took place on a ranch that Gere owns. A friend told the magazine, “They’re so comfortable with each other, have fun together and are looking forward to their future together.” Both Gere and Silva are practicing buddhists. Silva told Hola Magazine at the time of their wedding, “There is not a day that Richard does not mention how important I am to him… He is the most humble, sensitive, affectionate, attentive, funny, generous man… I have ever known.” Silva went on to compare Gere to “an important priest” in the Buddhist religion. Silva added, “I will be eternally grateful. Without a doubt, thanks to Buddhism, my life has changed.”
2. Gere Says the Couple’s ‘Karmic Energy’ Made the Problems Created by Their Age Difference ‘Disappear’
In 2015, Gere spoke about the couple’s relationship in an interview with Spain’s Hola Magazine saying, “Our karma was attracted the moment we saw each other. I’m not ignoring our age different and what it means to be with a Hollywood star, but when there’s such a strong karmic energy, the problems disappear.” When asked about their long distance relationship by Hola, Silva said, “I’ve always thought that long distance relationships are complicated. But these days with all the technology we have, let me assure you that it’s much easier.” The following question saw Silva asked if love was important to her to which she answered, “Who isn’t it important to? I think that the whole world deserves to live with love, in all its meanings… So, yes, love is fundamental to my life.”
3. Silva’s Previous Husband Was the Heir to a Billion Dollar Fortune
Silva has one son, Albert, with her first husband, Govind Friedland. The couple was married between 2012 and 2015. Friedland is the son of Chicago-born mining billionaire Robert Friedland. According to Mining Weekly, Friedland is a geologist. His father’s company is worth close to $350 million.
El Mundo reports that Gere and Silva met in 2014 while he was staying at a boutique hotel she ran with Friedland in Positano, Italy, the Hotel Villa Treville. The newspaper described Friedland and Silva has handling their divorce in a “very civilized and very cordial way.”
4. Silva Is the Patron of Spanish Homeless Charity
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Silva is the patron of the RAIS Foundation in Spain, a homeless charity. According to Vanity Fair, any money that Silva earns from personal appearances is redirected straight to the foundation. Gere has attended RAIS Foundation events with his wife. El Mundo reports that Silva has also worked in public relations for Portuguese soccer legend Luis Figo as well as Spanish actress Amaia Salamanca.
5. Silva Previously Dated Brazilian Soccer Legend Roberto Carlos
During the time of Lorenzo Sanz as president of Real Madrid, Silva’s father, Ignacio Silva, was the vice president of the legendary soccer club. That’s what led to Silva dating Brazilian left back Roberto Carlos for a time in 2005. ABC described Silva as “being in love” with the Brazilian Carlos. The relationship occurred just after Carlos had split from his wife, Alexandra Pinheiro.
Spanish journalist Leticia Requejo told Vanity Fair when news that Gere and Silva were a couple, “Alejandra has grown up with a strong education and in a family that is more affluent. She is the daughter of Ignacio Silva, a well-known construction magnate and former vice-president of Real Madrid – her relationships since she was a girl have been with people of Madrid’s high society, so it’s no wonder that her circle of friends now continues at that economic and social level.” Despite this, little is known about Silva’s biography, according to the Vanity Fair piece.
