Jamie Dornan has spent £1m on a new pad in Portugal.
The 40-year-old Fifty Shades of Gray star sparked speculation that he had moved abroad with his family after he was spotted shopping for fruit and vegetables earlier this month in a small town in the south of the country.
Now we can reveal that Jamie and his wife Amelia Warner bought a former six-bed rooming house with a pool.
Public property records obtained by Mail Online show the couple bought the property last September from a notary public in the Portuguese capital.
The house, formerly owned by a Spanish woman and run as a luxury country hotel, is bordered by pine forests and sand dunes.
Wow! Jamie Dornan has spent £1m on a new pad in Portugal (pictured)
Moving? The 40-year-old Fifty Shades of Gray star sparked speculation that he had moved abroad with his family after he was spotted shopping for fruit and vegetables earlier this month (pictured with wife Amelia Warner in 2022).
Its former owner described it as “one of Portugal’s best kept secrets” when it was still operating as a guest house before the once-successful business was hit by the coronavirus lockdown.
Past guests have called it an “exceptional place filled with tranquility and comfort,” in a selection of online reviews of the property.
It’s not immediately clear if Jamie, who gained worldwide fame with his portrayal of Christian Grey, plans to make his new spot near the Atlantic his main family home with singer-songwriter Amelia and their three daughters.
Sources told Mail Online that the property they bought is no longer on a national holiday accommodation registry.
The actor and his partner, who bought under his married name Dornan, are believed to have invested some of the windfall they made from the sale of their Cotswold home last year into their new overseas location.
They reportedly sold their eight-bedroom flat near Stroud for £5 million, raising questions at the time about where they had moved to.
The intensely private couple is believed to have given an address in south-west London, close to where Jamie was seen working out at a gym last October, as their primary residence when they closed the deal on their Portuguese property.
Purchased: Public property records obtained by Mail Online show the couple bought the property last September from a notary public in the Portuguese capital
Cozy: Its former owner described it as “one of Portugal’s best kept secrets” when it was still operating as a guest house before the once-successful business was hit by the coronavirus lockdown.
Rui Baptista, a former Big Brother from Portugal contestant, was the first to associate the actor with the area after bumping into him while buying a coffee in the town of Alfarim on Valentine’s Day.
The moviegoer posted a selfie of him with Jamie, dressed casually in a sweater and shorts, writing: “When you go to the grocery store next door and find out who your new neighbor is.” Thanks Jamie.
After the mayor Francisco Jesús wrote next to the complement: “I confess that what I know best from the photo is the Alfarim Chapel,” Rui added about his experience on his YouTube channel Espaco Cult: “Jamie is a very nice person and very accessible.
“I had left the house to shop at a small grocery store and I noticed him crouched down next to me when I went over to get coffee.
‘I recognized him immediately and saw that he had done it. As politely as possible and trying not to make him feel uncomfortable, I told him in English that I couldn’t believe she had met him in this little shop.
Stunning: We can now reveal that Jamie and his wife Amelia Warner bought a former six-bed rooming house with a pool.
Recalling how Jamie, who is starring in Kenneth Branagh’s upcoming American mystery film A Haunting in Venice, agreed to pose for a photo after their unexpected encounter, Rui added: “He left his bag of groceries on the floor.”
“We had to interrupt the first photo we were trying to take because a driver pulling his car out of a parking space behind us was running over the bag and Jamie was about to run out of her groceries.”
The actor shared a rare family photo last March on Instagram to celebrate International Women’s Day.
He posted a snapshot of his loved ones, including his wife, 40, and their three daughters, Dulcie, nine, Elva, seven, and Alberta, four, as they crossed the street.
He captioned his post: ‘I’m just a bunch of dust without this kit. #International Women’s Day.’
Jamie has previously described fatherhood as the biggest role in his life, revealing in a Sunday Times interview: “When I’m at home, all I am is husband and father, and that’s all encompassing.” It is the role I take most seriously in life.
He was stuck in quarantine in Australia before filming The Tourist in Australia while his father Jim died of covid on the other side of the world.
Confirmed: Rui Baptista (pictured), a former Big Brother from Portugal contestant, was the first to link the actor to the area after bumping into him while buying a coffee in the town of Alfarim on Valentine’s Day
Instagram: Amelia, who used to date Hollywood star Colin Farrell, dropped a strong hint that she was also in Portugal earlier this month by posting a photo of a beach with a boat called Boa Esperanca – English for Good Hope – spotlight.
Travel and quarantine restrictions meant he was unable to fly back to his native Northern Ireland and he went on to describe 2021 as the “worst and most difficult” year of his life.
Amelia, who used to date Hollywood star Colin Farrell, hinted she was also in Portugal earlier this month by posting a photo of a beach with a ship called Boa Esperanca (Good Hope in English) in the foreground.
A local who lives near the new venue the British couple bought told Mail Online last night: “It sat empty for over a year before it was sold.”
“It was doing really well when the previous owners were renting out rooms to different tourists, but with the onset of Covid they ended up having to try and rent out the whole place to individual groups.
“He raised the price and no one booked.”