Julia Roberts Sold Her ‘Dream’ S.F. Home to Save Her Marriage to Danny Moder: ‘He Resented It’

It was her dream home. In 2020, Julia Roberts dropped $8.3 million on a historic Edwardian-style home in the tony Presidio Heights neighborhood of San Francisco. Built in 1907, the 6,315-square-foot house features five bedrooms and four baths — plenty of room for the star, her husband, Danny Moder, and their three kids — and a view of the Golden Gate Bridge. An insider tells Closer, “Julia was passionate about renovating the house and moving the family there.” 

Her husband? Not so much. Sources tell Closer the cinematographer resisted relocating, preferring to stay in L.A., and the move caused tension in the couple’s 21-year marriage. In mid-October, the couple put the house on the market — where it quickly sold for $11.75 million — leading some to suspect it was a last-ditch effort by Julia, 56, to save her marriage. “Buying the San Francisco house was all Julia’s idea,” says the insider. “She overruled Danny’s objections and ran with it.”

Trouble Ahead

Balancing career and home has always been difficult for the Ticket to Paradise star, who met her mate on the set of 2001’s The Mexican and wed in July 2002. In recent years, says the insider, Julia promised to cut back on work to spend more time with Danny and their kids, twins Phinnaeus and Hazel, 18, and 16-year-old son Henry. “It’s just never consumed me, being an actor. It is my dream come true, but not my only dream come true,” she said last year. “The life that I have built with my husband, the life that we’ve built with our children, that’s the best stuff.” 

But the source says the 54-year-old felt Julia’s work — which has netted her a reported $250 million — came before his. “He felt living in San Francisco was hurting his career because they were living so far from the action,” notes the insider. “He was always of the belief that Julia put her career ahead of his, and he resented it but made the move just to appease Julia.”

He also missed being close to his family in Palm Springs, not to mention his surfing buddies. “Things weren’t getting better,” notes the insider. “It put a strain on their marriage.”

It’s not the first time the couple have been on the brink of a breakup. As Closer has previously reported, there was talk that Julia was initially househunting in San Francisco to find a home to live in solo.

Make or Break

Faced with an ultimatum, the actress finally backed down. “Danny wanted to move back to Malibu, where he’s got the beach at his doorstep for surfing and his industry friends who give him work,” explains the insider. “And he was going to go whether Julia came with him or not.” 

The decision was even more crucial, as the couple — who both ended long-term relationships in order to be together — are soon to be empty nesters. “The kids are getting older and will soon be moving out,” notes the insider. “Julia and Danny had to take a good, long look at their marriage and decide what they were going to do.”

Ultimately, that meant compromise, which wasn’t easy for the pair. “My husband and I are people of strong convictions and opinions,” Julia has admitted. The insider agrees. “Julia can be forceful sometimes, and yes, her career is important to her, but she loves Danny more.” In the end, says the insider, “Marriage is about give-and-take, and she doesn’t want this marriage to fail.”