Richard Gere and his wife confirm pregnancy, having now told the Dalai Lama

Richard Gere and his wife Alejandra Silva announced Sunday they were expecting their first child together, but that they kept the news secret before first telling the Dalai Lama, who gave the unborn child a blessing.

The Hollywood actor famous for his starring roles in Pretty Woman, An Officer and a Gentleman and Chicago, will become a father for the second time next year just a few months before he turns 70.

The couple released a photo yesterday of themselves in Rotterdam with the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism.

Gere has his arms around his wife's waist as the Dalai Lama holds Miss Silva's hand and places his other hand on her stomach.

"Just a few moments ago... Getting blessings for our precious to come.." the 35-year-old wrote in an Instagram post.

"We couldn't announce it before telling HH Dalai Lama."

Gere, 69, married Miss Silva, his third wife, in April in Madrid following a four year relationship.

He was previously married to models Carey Lowell and Cindy Crawford.

The Spanish publicist already has a five year-old son from a previous marriage.

In an interview with Hola, the Spanish magazine, two years ago, she said: "Richard has been my hero in real life.

"I was a little lost, without light, and meeting him gave sense to my life. I felt like someone was stretching out his hand and showing me the true path."

The Golden Globe winner has often spoken about his Buddhist faith which he became interested in his early twenties.

He gave his 18-year-old son Homer, the middle name Jigme, a traditional Buddhist name.

Last year,  he told The Hollywood Reporter that  the reason he is rarely cast in mainstream films now is due to his outspoken stance on Tibet as China becomes a growing influence in the film industry.

"There are definitely movies that I can't be in because the Chinese will say, 'Not with him,'" he claimed.

"I recently had an episode where someone said they could not finance a film with me because it would upset the Chinese."