Aussie actor Chris Hemsworth and his wife Elsa Pataky’s mammoth Byron Bay mansion has been the subject of much criticism over the years, with many feeling its 900 square-metre size and industrial feel are a stain on NSW’s leafy hinterland.
WATCH BELOW: Chris Hemsworth reveals why Elsa Pataky didn’t change her last name
But New Idea hears there’s good reason why the former Home and Away star went to great lengths to build the extravagant home – jealousy!
“Chris would never admit it, but it’s always bothered him that Elsa’s ex bought her a castle and he looked for ways to one-up that for so long,” dishes a source.
In 2007, Elsa’s ex-boyfriend, Adrien Brody, purchased her a 19th-century castle worth almost a million dollars in upstate New York.
According to reports, Adrien blindfolded his then-girlfriend and surprised her with it on her 31st birthday, two years before they split in 2009.
“It seems the only solution was to build Elsa something even better, and thus the idea for Chris’ Byron Bay mansion he built for her was born.”
Hollywood power couple Chris and Elsa moved to the low-key coastal town back in 2014 and have never looked back.
“Moving back to Australia was a very good decision for us,” Chris previously admitted.
“I can be with people and talk about things that have nothing to do with the film business. That’s almost impossible in LA.”
The former Home and Away star added: “I don’t want to be too negative about Hollywood because it’s given me so many extraordinary opportunities, but I’m much more at ease back home.”
Though they find the lifestyle more laid-back in Australia, Elsa has confessed there’s one habit she has Down Under that drives Chris crazy.
“Everybody here, when they tell off their kids, they’re like (mimics whispering), but we are totally opposite,” she told Women’s Health in 2019.
“We are loud and sometimes Chris gets really embarrassed. He’s like, ‘Stop it, everyone’s looking at us’”.
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