Sharon Stone Is ‘Devastated’ About Longtime Friend Richard Gere’s Move to Spain

Richard Gere and Sharon Stone have a friendship that goes way back and is deeper than a lot of folks realize. A source exclusively tells Closer that the Basic Instinct legend is devastated by the news that her old friend is quitting America for good and moving to Spain.

“Richard and Sharon have had a long enough friendship that they see eye-to-eye on almost everything and they’ve really been there for each other through all the ups and downs you experience in a multi-decade Hollywood career,” the insider reveals. “But Sharon isn’t a quitter and is actually a patriotic person — no matter what direction she thinks the country is heading in. She’s not the type of person who would leave on a whim.”

The source continues, “That’s what’s so disappointing about Richard’s decision to move to Spain and basically give up on making a positive difference. Remember, Sharon is also an activist herself, she’s raised tens of millions of dollars for the [AIDS-related] charity amfAR and has even said publicly that her activism hurt her career. But she’s not giving up on America and she hopes, after their decades of friendship, that Richard and his family don’t give up either.”

Richard, 75, and Sharon, 66, met in 1994 when they were both cast in the film Intersection.

“A fun #flashback to 1994 with my talented friend, Richard Gere, on the set of our movie #Intersection (1994) dir. #MarkRydell,” Sharon wrote in May 2016 alongside a photo of her and Richard. “We fought on camera but had a lot of fun making this movie. ‘What does a girl have to do?’”

Richard revealed earlier this year that he and his family had plans to relocate to Spain, where his wife, Alejandra Silva, is from.

“For Alejandra, it will be wonderful to be closer to her family, her lifelong friends and her culture,” the Officer and a Gentleman star told Vanity Fair Spain in an article published on April 16. “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 hers.”

Richard continued, “I love Spain and I think your lifestyle is fabulous. Also your ability to live transmitting joy and happiness. It is a beautiful place, the food is extraordinary and the people exude sensitivity and generosity, as well as a strong will to laugh and enjoy.”

Six months later, Richard sold his home in New Canaan, Connecticut, for a whopping $11 million. However, the Pretty Woman actor will still have a place to stay in the States as he travels back and forth. He told the publication that he had a house located “in the countryside near New York.”

Fans of the star shouldn’t expect to see him in Hollywood anytime soon, though. There’s no love lost between Richard and Los Angeles.

“When I hear the word Hollywood, the first thing I think is that it is something very foreign to me,” he told Vanity Fair Spain at the time. “I have not lived in California for a quarter of a century, nor have I filmed a movie in Los Angeles during that period.”