Why Richard Gere And His Second Wife Carey Lowell Got A Divorce

Like his famous character in "Pretty Woman," veteran actor Richard Gere is a sucker for love, and his dating history is all the proof you need. According to US Weekly, while still finding his footing in Hollywood in the '70s, Gere dated Scottish actress Dawn Steel. In the decades that followed, the veteran actor was linked to a few more belles, including Carole Mallory and Penelope Milford. And then in the late '80s, Gere met supermodel Cindy Crawford, with whom he would later begin a romantic relationship. In 1991, the couple eloped to Las Vegas and then began their journey as a married couple with a 17-year age gap. 

However, after only four years together, Gere's marriage to Crawford came crashing. Unsurprisingly, the wide age difference contributed to the pair's failed marriage. "I think a lot of what happened with Richard and I was that I was still 22, and at 22 — as a young woman — I was kind of still figuring out who I was and what I wanted to be, and he was already 37," Crawford said in a 2013 interview with US Weekly. "So, in some ways, he knew that I was still growing and changing. I just didn't want to hear it from him because, at 22, you think you know everything."

Following his marriage with Crawford, Gere went on to marry former Bond Girl Carey Lowell in November 2002. Sadly, just like Gere's first attempt, this union was, in fact, not a forever deal.

After 11 years married and 18 years together, news broke in September 2013 that Carey Lowell and Richard Gere had separated and were headed for divorce. At the time, a source confirmed to Page Six that the couple had been leading separate lives and spending a lot of time apart for months. Even worse, Gere and Lowell's marriage was apparently plagued by the differences in their lifestyles. "They have a place in Bedford [NY], and he likes it because it's quiet, and he likes the solitude. She likes being in North Haven in the limelight. They live next door to Jimmy Buffett and his family, and they're good friends," a source explained. Despite their marriage not working, however, Gere and Lowell maintained their commitment to prioritizing their son Homer James, whom the couple welcomed in 2000. 

Sadly, as in most Hollywood divorces, things took an ugly turn. Though they quickly reached custody agreements, the pair soon found themselves in a dispute over the actor's multimillion-dollar net worth. On one occasion, Gere made headlines after flipping out and poking his umbrella at a paparazzi photographer during a court appearance in October 2014, per The Daily Mail. After years of back and forth, a Manhattan court finalized Gere and Lowell's divorce in 2016, with the pair reaching an undisclosed settlement. 

Following his divorce from Carey Lowell, it didn't take Richard Gere long to give love another chance. After a brief romance with Padma Lakshmi in 2014, the "Pretty Woman" actor struck up a relationship with Spanish publicist Alejandra Silva. Per Us Weekly, the pair was first linked together in 2015 after they were spotted vacationing in Italy. Three years later, the couple took their relationship to the next level and secretly tied the knot. "Today makes one month since the happiest day! Wanted to share with you one of my favorite pictures!" Silva sweetly captioned a June 2018 Instagram post featuring a photo from their wedding day. Later that year, Gere and Silva confirmed they were expecting their first child together. In February 2019, the couple welcomed their son Alexander. 

Surprisingly, it didn't take the couple long before expanding their family further. In November 2019, a source close to Silva and Gere confirmed to People that they were expecting their second child together. And despite the 24-year age gap between them, Gere and Silva have undoubtedly found a way to make their marriage work. "I'm the happiest man in the universe. How could I not be? I'm married to a beautiful woman who is smart, sensitive, committed to helping people, who's fun, patient, who knows how to forgive, who's a great cook, and who makes the best salads in the world!" Gere gushed to Hello! Magazine (via Sky News).