Pop icon's daughter says her dead pets will haunt Richard Gere for 'breaking promise' on $10million childhood home

Daily Mail​

10-07-2025

Paul Simon's singer daughter has lashed out at actor Richard Gere for selling her $10million childhood home to real estate developers who plan to demolish the 1930s mansion to build a plot of new homes.
Lulu Simon, 30, took to Instagram on Tuesday to blast Gere, 75, for allegedly renegging on a promise he made to her family to 'take care of land' when he bought the New Canaan, Connecticut, property from the Simon & Garfunkel musician and his wife Edie Brickell in 2022.
'Just in case anyone was wondering if I still hate Richard Gere – I do!' Lulu wrote in a post in all caps, accompanied by a selfie and a screen shot of a news article about the home being torn down despite backlash from preservationists.
She claimed that looking after the land was a 'condition' of Gere's purchase but did not share any further details about the alleged agreement.
'He bought my childhood home,' she continued. 'Promised he would take care of the land as condition of his purchase. Proceeded to never actually move in & just sold it to a developer as nine separate plots… Hate! Him!'
In a second post, Lulu issued the Pretty Woman actor a chilling warning.
'I hope my dead pets buried in that backyard haunt you until you descend into a slow and unrelenting madness.'
The caption was displayed alongside an old photo of Gere, edited onto a collage depicting some of her late pets.
A third post followed, which consisted of a meme of a frog sitting in front of a colorful sky along with the caption, 'Time will put your enemies in the ground.'
The posts were eventually deleted around 18 hours after they were published, according to Realtor.
A representative for Gere has not yet responded to a DailyMail.com request for comment.
The Chicago star bought the six-bedroom, seven-bathroom home from Simon and Brickell for $10.8 million, and sold it for $10.75 million in an off-market deal to real estate developers in October 2024.
Then, in May, it was revealed the historic home was scheduled for demolition in order to make way for a nine-property development on the site.
That news came after Gere and his wife, 42-year-old Spanish publicist Alejandra Gere, relocated to Madrid so the pair and their children could be closer to her family.
The couple share sons Alexander, 6, and James, 5. Alejandra is also mom to son, Albert, 11, with ex-husband Govind Friedland, while Gere shares son Homer, 25, with ex-wife Carey Lowell.
'For Alejandra, it will be wonderful to be closer to her family, her lifelong friends and her culture,' Gere told Vanity Fair Spain in April 2024.
'She was very generous in giving me six years living in my world, so it is only fair that I give her at least another six living in here.'
Alejandra later shared they plan on moving back to the US in a 'few years.'
Like Gere, Paul Simon also made a loss when he sold the property.
The Sound of Silence troubadour bought the home with Brickell in 2002 for $16.5million, according to Town & Country.
They attempted to sell the Georgian-style estate in 2019 for $13.9million but a buyer was not forthcoming.
The asking price fluctuated for the next three years before Gere purchased the 31.8 acre plot in 2022.
Gere had originally sought to convert the majority of the land into a farm.
During a 2023 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, Gere's lawyer David Rucci assured the commission that the historical property would not be turned into commercial real estate.
'I have received phone calls from four or five neighbors [who were] very concerned… if this was going to be some sort of big commercial operation, and it's really not,' Rucci said at the time, according to the N ew Canaan Advertiser.
'The owners… they both have grown up on farms, they're very interested in farms and teaching their kids about farms…so this is really important to them.'
Although the property is now destined for demolition, salvage experts from York-based Hudson Valley House Parts have worked to extract some of the home's architectural gems to be repurposed.
The company shared an Instagram Reel in May, showing off the sprawling property and some of the historic elements they were able to save.
'For the past month we have been fascinated by this estate as our team has been working on location salvaging many architectural elements,' the company wrote.
'Formerly owned by Richard Gere who purchased the property from Paul Simon and Edie Brickell, this 1930s home is scheduled for demolition with the intention of dividing the 32 acres into nine large lots.'
The lots will range between 2.2 and 4.8 acres. They will be sold empty, giving buyers the chance to build their dream homes from the ground up, CT Insider reported.