The daughter of legendary singer-songwriter Paul Simon hopes that the pets she buried in the backyard of her childhood home in Connecticut will “haunt” Richard Gere, after the “Pretty Woman” actor purchased the English country-style home in 2022, then sold it to a developer who plans to tear it down to make way for a new luxury subdivision.
“Just in case anyone was wondering if I still hate Richard Gere – I do!” pop artist Lulu Simon, 30, declared on her Instagram stories Tuesday, the Daily Beast reported.
Lulu Simon shared a screenshot of a post that said that the home in New Canaan “is being torn down,” while “preservationists are racing to salvage its 1930s charm,” the Daily Beast reported. Lulu Simon has accused Gere of breaking a “promise” he made when purchasing the 32-acre property from her father in 2022. As a condition of the purchase, Gere said he “would take care of the land,” she said.
Paul Simon performs on July 25, the first day of the Democratic National
Convention, in Philadelphia. (Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/TNS)
A report by Mansion Global said that Gere, 75, purchased the property for $10.8 million. The property actually contains two buildings: A five-bedroom main house built in 1938, and a three-bedroom cottage. Outdoor amenities include terraced patios, a pool, gardens, woodland trails, a rock-rimmed brook, a natural pond and a waterfall.
The “American Gigolo” star reportedly had initial plans to transform parts of the land into a farm, the Daily Beast said. But he then turned around and sold it. Mansion Global reported that Gere and his wife, Alejandra Silva, 42, appeared to have sold the property in an off-market deal for $10.75 million — a slight loss.
The purchaser was SBP Homes, a luxury, Connecticut-based real estate developer, the Daily Beast reported. Lulu Simon expressed outrage over Gere’s failure to “actually move in” before selling it to a developer, who she said plans to subdivide the property into nine separate lots.
The developer indeed plans to carve up the estate into nine vacant lots, ranging between 2.2 and 4.8 acres each, the Daily Beast said, citing a report by local news website CT Insider. The lots will be sold empty, giving buyers the chance to build their dream homes from the ground up.
Last April, Gere told Vanity Fair España that he and his wife were planning to leave the United States and move to her home country of Spain. “She was very generous in giving me six years living in my world, so I think it is only fair that I give her at least another six living in hers,” Gere told the magazine.
Lulu Simon doesn’t care about Gere’s desire to please his wife. One of three children Paul Simon shares with his third wife, singer Edie Brickell, Lulu is still angry that Gere let her family home fall into the hands of a developer. She shared another photo of Gere surrounded by photos of dogs and cats. “I hope my dead pets buried in that back yard haunt you until you descend into a slow and unrelenting madness,” she added.