Richard Gere and his wife Alejandra Silva opened up about family life and how their Buddhist faith helps them be better parents while talking exclusively to HELLO! at a screening of his documentary Wisdom of Happiness on Thursday. The 76-year-old, who shares his sons Alexander and James with the Spanish journalist gave beautiful insight into their lives away from the spotlight and confessed that just like any other parent, they too deal with "drama" at home.
In fact, the glamorous pair revealed that just hours prior to the event, they'd been navigating a situation with one of their boys which was resolved thanks to their faith... and Alejandra's "incredible" parenting. When asked how Buddhism affects their parenting, Richard said with a laugh. "Well, interesting you should bring that up because we were just having a drama about one of our kids."
© WireImagePatience is key
The celebrated actor has been a Buddhist and vocal supporter of the Tibetan freedom movement for decades. He first studied Zen Buddhism in his 20s and traveled to Nepal in 1978 to meet Tibetan monks and lamas. He was introduced to the 14th Dalai Lama in India and went on to became a practicing Tibetan Buddhist.
Richard and Alejandra are now immersing their children in their faith. "Like Richard has said before, there is a lot of patience that is brought into the equation. Introducing the kids to Buddhism and what it means is also important."
Richard smiled before he confessed: "She's always really good with. 'OK I know I wanna strangle you right now, but I'm going to take a deep breath and we're gonna talk through this. And OK, now what's going on? I'd like to know what are you feeling.'"
'She's an incredible mother'
© Stephen Lovekin/ShutterstockAlejandra has been practicing Buddhism since meeting her husband, who she married in 2018, and Richard gushed about her as a mother. "She's an incredible mother. I've actually learned how to be a better father by watching her."
© InstagramThe couple welcomed Alexander the same year they were married, before James arrived in 2020. Richard is also a proud father to his 25-year-old son Homer, whom he shares with his first wife, Carey Lowell. Richard, Alejandra and their young sons relocated to Spain in October 2024 in order to be closer to her family, and for the kids to learn about their mother's culture.
Family relocation
© InstagramNow, they are back living in America and he opened up about the shift in family dynamic. "We're actually back here now, " he said. "But...we had our family in Spain for one year. And the biggest thing I can say is that [Alejandra] was really happy, because [of] her family and her friends and her culture and her city and food, all of it, all of the cultural great stuff, so that was fabulous."
Finding Buddhism
Richard's documentary is about the Dalai Lama and focuses on finding inner peace and compassion in the modern world. Alejandra spoke about her introduction to Buddhism: "I mean for me it was meeting Richard, to tell you the truth, and that was my opening to Buddhism. It was so deep within me."
© Getty ImagesHe added: "She must have had previous lifetimes because it happened very quickly for her. We had just started going out and I was meditating and I said said, 'You sit there, you can read, I'm just gonna meditate.' She said 'What are you doing?' And we started talking about what I was doing and it just was so natural for her." Alejandra interjected: "Immediately, the door opened,"
Staying grounded
© Getty ImagesWhen asked what the most important teaching of Buddhism is, Richard explained: "Patience, just patience with yourself and with everybody else, just patience. These things take time. But it's like playing the piano, you have to practice and you practice and you practice, and then you're able to achieve something."
Richard and Alejandra work hard to stay grounded and when quizzed on the everyday routine they have to achieve this, the father of three had a sweet answer. "Everyday routine?" he pondered. "Kissing my wife. When she lets me, which isn't all the time." To which, Alejandra quipped: "Sometimes yes, sometimes no, otherwise, it would be too easy, right?"
