Richard Gere: FAME, FAMILY AND STARTING OVER

A FATHER OF YOUNG SONS AT 72, RICHARD GERE IS FLOURISHING OUTSIDE OF THE SPOTLIGHT — AND STARRING IN A NEW FILM.

"I have found the quiet, happy life that I had always sought.” - Richard

LAST summer, Richard Gere was spotted with his Spanish wife, Alejandra Silva on holiday in her coastal hometown of Oleiros. The pair dined with Alejandra's mother at the local restaurant El Refugio. Calling the couple “discreet" and "correct," the seafood restaurant's proprietor recalled that as fans of the Pretty Woman star approached the table for selfies, the 72-year-old “politely refused."

Once one of the 1980s' biggest movie stars, the actor has stepped back from the trappings of his earlier fame. He's recently traded his $28 million, 50-acre estate in Pound Ridge, N.Y., for a smaller place in the hamlet of North Salem, where, sources tell Star, the practicing Buddhist intends to focus on his two young sons, aged 3 and 2, with Alejandra while pursuing his social justice projects and even taking on movie roles. Four decades after finding fame, he's said, “I have found the quiet, happy life that I had always sought."

LONG PATH TO LOVE