Richard Gere has claimed his wife mistook him for George Clooney when they first met

Richard, 75, told Spain's Elle magazine: "She had no idea who I was when we met - none.

"She didn't see movies, which was great - I was very happy about that."

But his 41-year-old wife insisted: "Richard, I knew who you were, I didn't see many of your movies."

Richard quipped: "She thought I was George Clooney but other than that, she knew exactly who I was."

Alejandra - who has 11-year-old Albert from a previous relationship and Alexander, five, and James, four, with her spouse - admitted Richard's 2014 movie 'Time Out of Mind' led to her falling for him.

She said: "He's so sexy there."

While the 'Officer and a Gentleman' actor - who was previously married to Cindy Crawford and Carey Lowell, the mother of his 24-year-old son Homer - admitted he has been learning Spanish, he confessed that none of the phrases he knows are particularly suitable for repeating in public.

He said: "I had a Brazillian girlfriend for a long time, but all I knew were dirty things. They were sexy. So, that's the only way I can speak in Portugese but the same in Spanish, so I'm sorry I can't do it now."

The 'Arbitrage' actor previously admitted he "instantly" fell in love with Alejandra.

Asked if he fell in love at first sight, he told the Sunday Times magazine: "Instant from my side. I instantly became happy just looking at her. It was one of those powerful things.

And pressed on if he's felt the same connection in the past, he said: "Yes, I've been married three times, but it didn't happen with the kind of power of this one. But I do remember the first time I met each of my wives."