Actor Luc Senay and director Janie Gaumond-Brunet no longer have a fixed address. The couple swapped their mountainside residence in Shefford for a luxurious Mercedes-Benz van. It is now on the road that they will live and work year-round.
The two TV entertainers made the bold move in 2020 after living aboard a small Safari Condo-like trailer for a few summers. “I used it as a dressing room for filming the Upper country and of Fifth row. It was also Janie’s production office. We felt very comfortable there, ”says the 64-year-old actor.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY LUC SENAY AND JANIE GAUMOND-BRUNET
Luc Senay driving his Mercedes-Benz van
This happiness of living outside, with the bare minimum, made every return home difficult. “We were so unhappy. It couldn’t last,” says M.me Gaumond-Brunet, discussing the ongoing upkeep and expensive renovations to their California-style residence, built on a three-acre wooded lot.
Feeling at a crossroads, the couple then built new professional projects, then ordered a new caravan before planting the DuProprio sign in front of their house.
sense of urgency
The idea of selling everything and leaving went against all logic, admits Janie Gaumond-Brunet, who says she had to explain their decision many times to their friends and financial advisers. But the close loss of three friends of their age, one after the other, convinced them of the urgency of enjoying life differently.
Achieving a new start of this kind still requires a good deal of preparation. How can you go from a house full of possessions accumulated during 22 years of living together to a recreational vehicle barely 22 feet long, with only two small closets?
PHOTO PROVIDED BY LUC SENAY AND JANIE GAUMOND-BRUNET
The couple’s former home in Shefford
The answer comes in several stages, they answer. The first is to mourn a house full of memories. To achieve this, the couple offered themselves the luxury of choosing the next owner of their residence.
It was important to us. We could have outbid and pocket at least $125,000 more. But we preferred to find the best buyer who would know how to take care of this house that we loved, despite everything.
Luc Senay, about the sale of his house
In the spirit of the couple, this house will indeed remain a place of happiness, but also of contemplation. “Janie’s mother came to spend her last days with us. She died, then she was exposed in the house. A garden has been created in his name on the grounds. However, without being asked, the buyer agreed to keep this garden. For us, the important thing was that,” says Luc Senay.
Difficult liquidation
Once the house was sold, it was necessary to quickly tackle the slow and difficult liquidation of the furniture, tools, souvenirs and other objects that cluttered the cupboards, cupboards and basement.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY LUC SENAY AND JANIE GAUMOND-BRUNET
Luc Senay at one of the many yard sales
“We had garage sales, put ads on the internet, made donations around us… But everyone already has everything they need. In the end, it’s as difficult to part with your belongings as it is to get them,” notes Janie Gaumond-Brunet.
Parting with very personal gifts can be tricky business, notes the 59-year-old. “In this case, Luc and I decided to offer our friends the opportunity to take back their gifts if they are still important to them. »
The most difficult remains the works of art. “You can’t sell that at a garage sale or at a flea market. If we are not able to sell them by May, we will find a wardrobe until we get rid of them,” says Luc Senay.
From this long process of dispossession was born a feeling of liberation and detachment.
This hoarding is useless. We won’t bring any of that when we leave this world. We might as well get rid of it ourselves rather than leave this painful task to our estate.
Luc Senay
This dispossession was done without any nostalgia for Luc Senay, “except perhaps for a couple of t-shirts”.
Photo albums and old VHS tapes, filled with memorabilia and TV shows, have nevertheless been carefully digitized for preservation on hard drives.
New projects
As soon as the keys to their caravan were in their pockets, the two new nomads took the road to California to shoot a few pilots in order to offer a documentary series to Quebec and international broadcasters.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY LUC SENAY AND JANIE GAUMOND-BRUNET
Janie Gaumond-Brunet in her “office”
“Janie can work from anywhere,” says Luc Senay, back in Quebec until March for a theatrical tour.
His wife is happy to see all the possibilities offered by her gleaming studio on wheels. “For 15 years, I was too busy with the house to be able to create to my liking. I am relieved of it, she rejoices, well settled in Florida. I am now liberated. I will never go back to a house. »
Luc Senay and Janie Gaumond-Brunet will be speakers at the Salon du VR on March 4.