Antonio Banderas reveals real reason for moving out of Hollywood after suffering heart attack

Antonio Banderas is opening up about his decision to leave Los Angeles behind.

The Spain native officially made Los Angeles his home base during his marriage to Melanie Griffith , to whom he was married from 1996 to 2015 and with whom he shares daughter Stella Banderas, 29.

Following their 2015 divorce and his 2017 heart attack however, he has moved back to his home city of Málaga, which he maintains is where he ultimately belongs.

Speaking with People, Antonio, who most recently stars in the Anthony Bourdain biopic Tony, explained that his 2017 heart attack, which he suffered while at his Surrey, England home, served as an “unbelievably clear reminder” of what was most important to him, including a return to Spain.

Revisiting his years in Los Angeles, he recalled how he “fell in love” with ex-wife Melanie, who he remains close friends with today, as well as creating a home for their daughter Stella as well as her children, Dakota Johnson , 36, and Alexander Bauer, 40.

“Those were beautiful, exciting years. But I always had this sense of provisionality that it was not going to last my whole life,” he however added. “I knew that Málaga was there, my hometown. I was not supposed to be in Malibu, but in Málaga.”

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“People live like they are not going to die,” he further said of Los Angeles. “They collect things. I don’t want to collect anything. The only thing that I am interested in now is in the experience of living.”

Antonio also gushed about his present close relationship with Melanie despite their split, maintaining: “When we separated, we were always very sincere. And now she is, if not my best friend, one of my best friends.”

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The Babygirl actress also recently spoke to the outlet about his 2017 heart attack; he was in Surrey with his girlfriend Nicole Kimpel at the time, who gave him some aspiring before he was transported to the hospital for emergency surgery, when doctors placed three stents in his arteries.

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“You always have in your mind that you’re going to die,” he said. “But then when you have it so close, it’s an unbelievably clear reminder of how stupid you are losing time over things that don’t deserve to be in your life.”

“My heart attack was the best thing that ever happened in my life,” he emphasized, adding: “It was like somebody put glasses on me so I could see the reality that I didn’t see before.”