“Gossip Girl” Alum Kelly Rutherford Opens Up About Her 'Very Peaceful' Life in Monaco with Her Kids

The actress opens up about life out of the spotlight in the European city-state, where she moved to be close to her kids, to 'Travel + Leisure'

Kelly Rutherford is sharing an inside look at her life out of the spotlight in Monaco.

The Gossip Girl alum, 55, opened up about the “quiet time” she experiences at her home base in the European city-state during an interview with Travel + Leisure.

“It's actually quite peaceful,” Rutherford says of life in the microstate nestled along the Mediterranean Sea and surrounded by France on all sides. “It's the opposite of what everyone thinks it is, for me at least. It's a place you can come and really just be quiet.”

She continues, “In the wintertime, it’s very quiet, very private, and very peaceful. It’s like the Hamptons in the summer versus the Hamptons in the winter.”

Related: Kelly Rutherford Reveals the Secret Behind Her Effortlessly Elegant Style — and Those Elevator Selfies (Exclusive)

While travelers are known to flock to Monaco for luxury getaways or to attend events like the Formula One Grand Prix, Rutherford enjoys a slower lifestyle there.

“I just walk the dogs, hang out with the kids, and run errands,” she says, referring to her son Hermés, 17, and daughter Helena, 15. “If there's a gallery opening or something like that, I’ll go just to see. But it's mostly just quiet time here for me.”

Related: Kelly Rutherford Says She's 'So Excited' to Attend Gossip Girl Costar Ed Westwick's Wedding

In February, Rutherford spoke to PEOPLE about her home in Monaco and how it serves as a tranquil place for her to spend time with her kids following the lengthy custody battle she had with her ex, German businessman Daniel Giersch.

"Sometimes we just need to retreat and be with our kids and just heal and take time for ourselves," Rutherford told PEOPLE from her home at the time.

Related: Kelly Rutherford Channels Her Gossip Girl Character Lily van der Woodsen at Dior Fashion Show in Paris

When she and Giersch split in 2009, Rutherford was granted joint custody of their children by a judge in Monaco. Hermés was 2 years old at the time, while Rutherford was pregnant with Helena.

The situation got complicated when the judge declared the kids should live full-time with Giersch in Monaco after his work visa got revoked, barring him from returning to the United States. The judge told Rutherford that she would have to move to Monaco or make frequent visits in order to see her kids.

The actress spent nearly $2 million in legal fees, and later declared bankruptcy, in order to fight for full custody of her kids in the six-year legal battle. She was accused of abduction at one point after she didn’t send her kids back to Monaco following a six-week visit.

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Rutherford reflected on the tumultuous legal battle while speaking with PEOPLE, and revealed how she’s in a much better place nearly 15 years after it all started.

"Yes, it was a challenging time. It was a heartbreaking time. But I focus on the good most of the time, I really do," she said. "I'm very thankful of where we are. I have a great relationship with my kids."

In her Travel + Leisure interview, she also shared her favorite things about Monaco that will enchant visitors.

“Grace Kelly really created this beautiful feeling here,” she said. “She invited all the Hollywood people to Monaco early on and made it very glamorous.”

These days, she says, “It's still very old school, traditional, private, beautiful, but it's also now becoming sort of a cultural center. There’s the feeling like it’s having another new energy.”

Read the full story on travelandleisure.com.

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Read the original article on People.