Actor Mel Gibson wants to leave his wife of nearly 30 years -- and this lavish Connecticut estate.
Which will be more trying for actor Mel Gibson -- divorcing Robyn, his wife of at least 28 years, to be with Russian girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva, 39 (who's expecting his eight child), or selling his stately manor in Greenwich, Conn.?
Considering today's real estate market, both are likely to be a bear.
The "Braveheart" and "What Women Want" star, who first listed "Old Mill Farm," an approximately 15,800-square-foot estate on 75 acres, for $39.7 million in 2007, has recently slashed his asking price to $29.75 million. The Sotheby's listing for the home, which Gibson purchased in 1994 for $9.25 million, can be found on Cyberhomes.com, along with aerial pics of the estate.
The grounds of Gibson's home were designed by landscape designer James Doyle and includes formal gardens, a maze, a pool, a greenhouse, staff quarters and a log cabin, says the Daily Mail, which offers quite a few photos of the sprawling property.
The staunch Catholic reportedly has decorated the circa 1926 Tudor mansion to look like a monastery, says the New York Post. While the home is beautiful, from the looks of online photos I've seen of the manse's interior, Gibson's decorating style isn't certainly not my own.
In the photos available on theoriginalgreenwichdiva.com, it looks like his mansion his decorated in a more manly (i.e. ugly) style, with leather-upholstered chairs, and comfortable, but stodgy, sofas and armchairs. (I guess that Robyn didn't have much of a hand in decorating the home.)
Bad decorating aside, Gibson faces an uphill battle in selling his estate -- the Greenwich housing market has seen its home sales fall 70 percent in the first third of this year compared to last year, while the average sale price dropped 23 percent from $2.8 million to $2.2. million, according to the Greenwich Time.
I haven't heard why Gibson is selling the estate, but perhaps he's tired of listening to his fellow churchgoers gossip about his affair -- Gibson attends a chapel that he built himself and has threatened to close down the church if the locals keep ragging on him, says the Daily Mail.
—Lauren Baier Kim