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Gibson met his wife Robyn Moore in the late 1970s soon after filming Mad Max when they were both tenants at the same house in Adelaide. At the time, Robyn was a dental nurse and Mel was an unknown actor working for the South Australian Theatre Company. On 7 June 1980, they married in a Catholic Church in Forestville, New South Wales.[38] Gibson has referred to his wife as "my Rock of Gibraltar, only much prettier" and said, "life is about love and commitment and screw anyone who thinks that's a cliché." They have one daughter, six sons, and one grandchild.[39] Their seven children are Hannah (born 1980), twins Edward and Christian (born 1982), William (born 1985), Louis (born 1988), Milo (born 1990), and Thomas (born 1999).

Daughter Hannah Gibson married Blues musician Kenny Wayne Shepherd on 16 September 2006. Mel Gibson's spokesman had previously denied the rumor that Hannah was planning to become a nun.

Gibson has an avid interest in real estate investments, with multiple properties in Malibu, California, several locations in Costa Rica, a private island in Fiji and properties in Australia. In December 2004, Gibson sold his 300-acre (1.2 km2) Australian ranch in the Kiewa Valley for $6 million. Also in December 2004, Gibson purchased Mago Island in Fiji from Tokyu Corporation of Japan for $15 million. Descendants of the original native inhabitants of Mago (who were displaced in the 1860s) have protested the purchase. Gibson stated it was his intention to retain the pristine environment of the undeveloped island.In early 2005, he sold his 45,000-acre (180 km2) Montana ranch to a neighbor for an undisclosed multimillion dollar sum.In April 2007 he purchased a 400-acre (1.6 km2) ranch in Costa Rica for $26 million, and in July 2007 he sold his 76 acre Tudor estate in Connecticut (which he purchased in 1994 for $9 million) for $40 million to an unnamed buyer.Also that month, he sold a Malibu property for $30 million that he had purchased for $24 million two years before. In 2008, he purchased the Malibu home of David Duchovny and Téa Leoni

Gibson is a Traditionalist Catholic. As part of his response to a question on whether Pope John Paul II saw The Passion of the Christ, Gibson said, "I’d like to hear what he has to say. I’d like to hear what anyone has to say. This film isn’t made for the elite. Anyone could see this film, even the occupier of the chair of Peter can see this film."Gibson also referred to him as "Pope John Paul II" in a 2004 Reader's Digest interview,[and acquaintance Father William Fulco has said that Gibson denies neither the Pope nor Vatican II.

When asked about the Catholic doctrine of "Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus", Gibson replied, "There is no salvation for those outside the Church … I believe it. Put it this way. My wife is a saint. She's a much better person than I am. Honestly. She's, like, Episcopalian, Church of England. She prays, she believes in God, she knows Jesus, she believes in that stuff. And it's just not fair if she doesn't make it, she's better than I am. But that is a pronouncement from the chair. I go with it." When he was asked at Willow Creek church whether John 14:6 is an intolerant position, he said that "through the merits of Jesus' sacrifice… even people who don't know Jesus are able to be saved, but through him." Gibson told Diane Sawyer that he believes non-Catholics and non-Christians can go to heaven. In May 2007, Mel Gibson flew to Hermosillo, Mexico, where he attended a Tridentine Mass during which grandchildren of his friends and two of his children received the sacrament of Confirmation, administered by Archbishop emeritus Carlos Quintero Arce. The same Archbishop Arce consecrated Gibson's private traditional Catholic church in February, 2007.

Gibson's Traditionalist Catholic beliefs have been the target of attacks, especially during the controversy over his film The Passion of the Christ. Gibson has recently stated in an interview with Diane Sawyer that he feels that his "human rights were violated", by the often vitriolic attacks on his person, his family, and his religious beliefs which were sparked by The Passion.

Gibson has been called everything from “ultraconservative� to “politically very liberal� by acquaintance William Fulco. Although he has denied that he is a Republican, Gibson is often referred to as one in the press, and WorldNetDaily once reported that there was grassroots support among Republicans for "a presidential run" in 2008. Gibson complimented filmmaker Michael Moore and his documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 when he and Moore were recognized at the 2005 People's Choice Awards.Gibson's Icon Productions originally agreed to finance Moore's film, but later sold the rights to Miramax Films. Moore said that his agent Ari Emanuel claimed that "top Republicans" called Mel Gibson to tell him, "don’t expect to get more invitations to the White House". Icon's spokesman dismissed this story, saying "We never run from a controversy. You'd have to be out of your mind to think that of the company that just put out The Passion of the Christ." In a July 1995 interview with Playboy magazine, Gibson said President Bill Clinton was a "low-level opportunist" and someone was "telling him what to do". He said that the Rhodes Scholarship was established for young men and women who want to strive for a "new world order" and this was a campaign for Marxism.Gibson later backed away from such conspiracy theories saying, "It was like: 'Hey, tell us a conspiracy' . . . so I laid out this thing, and suddenly, it was like I was talking the gospel truth, espousing all this political shit like I believed in it."

In 2004, he publicly spoke out against taxpayer-funded embryonic stem-cell research that involves the cloning and destruction of human embryos.

In March 2005, he issued a statement condemning the outcome of the Terri Schiavo case, referring to Schiavo's death as "state-sanctioned murder" on Sean Hannity's radio show. Gibson joked about WMDs in a February 2004 interview with Diane Sawyer and in March 2004 questioned the Iraq war on Sean Hannity's radio show. In 2006, Gibson told the Time magazine that the "fearmongering" depicted in his film Apocalypto "reminds me a little of President Bush and his guys."

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) accused Gibson of homophobia after a December 1991 interview in the Spanish newspaper El País in which he said that gays "take it up the ass... This is only for taking a shit." [72] Gibson later defended his comments on Good Morning America, saying, "[Those remarks were a response] to a direct question. If someone wants my opinion, I'll give it. What, am I supposed to lie to them?"[citation needed] In his 1995 Playboy interview, he responded to GLAAD's protests over his comment with "I'll apologize when hell freezes over. They can fuck off". Eventually, however, Gibson joined GLAAD in hosting 10 lesbian and gay filmmakers for an on-location seminar on the set of the movie Conspiracy Theory in January 1997 In 1999 when asked about the comments to El País, Gibson said, "I shouldn't have said it, but I was tickling a bit of vodka during that interview, and the quote came back to bite me on the ass."

Gibson has also been criticized for homophobia over his films Braveheart.and The Passion of the Christ.

Due to some of his film choices as well as his Irish and Australian background, accusations of anglophobia, both sincere and joking, have been made against Gibson.

Criticisms have been leveled at the historical accuracy of the Gibson-directed Braveheart, including its portrayal of English lords asserting jus primae noctis.[citation needed] Gibson has acknowledged the reliance on anachronistic elements and the legends about William Wallace to make Braveheart more cinematically compelling. Furthermore, Gibson has dissociated himself from Scottish nationalists using the film to campaign for separation from the United Kingdom.[77] Gibson was called anti-English following the release of The Patriot in 2000, despite neither directing nor writing the script for the film. The American Revolutionary character played by Gibson (loosely inspired by four people) waged a private war against a villainous British officer based on Colonel Banastre Tarleton.[78]

While promoting The Patriot, Gibson told reporters, "I'm actually an Anglophile. I like the Brits, you know?" The fact that he keeps battling the British onscreen is "an unhappy accident, really. I'll have to remedy the situation someday."[78] Gibson has also publicly supported keeping Queen Elizabeth II as the Australian head of state.

Gibson has been accused of anti-Semitism over two issues:

His 2004 film The Passion of the Christ sparked a fierce debate over alleged anti-Semitic imagery and overtones. Gibson denied that the film was anti-Semitic, but critics remained divided. Some agreed that the film was consistent with the Gospels and traditional Catholic teachings, while others argued that it reflected a selective reading of the Gospels[80] or that it failed to comply with recommendations for dramatization of the Passion issued by the Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the USCCB in 1988.

A leaked report revealed that during Gibson's July 28, 2006, arrest for driving under the influence, he made anti-Semitic remarks to arresting officer James Mee, who is Jewish, saying, "Fucking Jews... Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world. Are you a Jew?"Gibson issued two apologies for the incident through his publicist, and in a later interview with Diane Sawyer, he affirmed the accuracy of the quotations.

Mel Gibson has said that he started drinking at the age of thirteen. In a 2002 interview about his time at NIDA, Gibson said, "I had really good highs but some very low lows. I found out recently I'm manic depressive."Gibson has not made any other public mention of having bipolar disorder.

Gibson was arrested in Toronto in 1984 for driving with a blood alcohol level between 0.12%-0.13% after he rear-ended a car. Gibson plead guilty and was fined $300 and banned from driving in Ontario for 3 months.This led to a retreat to his Australian farm for over a year to recover, but he continued to struggle with drinking. Despite this problem, Gibson gained a reputation in Hollywood for professionalism and punctuality, so that Lethal Weapon 2 director Richard Donner was shocked when Gibson confided that he was drinking five pints of beer for breakfast. Gibson said, in 2003, that despair in his mid-thirties led him to contemplate suicide, and he meditated on Christ's Passion to heal his wounds. He took more time off acting in 1991 and sought professional help. That year, Gibson's attorneys were unsuccessful at blocking the Sunday Mirror from publishing what Gibson shared at AA meetings.In 1992, Gibson provided financial support to Hollywood's Recovery Center, saying, "Alcoholism is something that runs in my family. It's something that's close to me. People do come back from it, and it's a miracle."

On July 28, 2006, Gibson was arrested for DUI while speeding in his vehicle with an open container of alcohol. He admitted to making anti-Semitic remarks during his arrest and apologized for his "despicable" behavior, saying the comments were "blurted out in a moment of insanity" and asked to meet with Jewish leaders to help him "discern the appropriate path for healing."[citation needed] When pressed for what his thoughts were at the time in a later interview with Diane Sawyer, he cited the vitriolic attacks on his film The Passion of the Christ and Israel-Lebanon conflict. After Gibson's arrest, his publicist said he had entered a recovery program to battle alcoholism. On August 17, 2006, Gibson pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor drunken-driving charge and was sentenced to three years on probation.[citation needed] He was ordered to attend self-help meetings five times a week for four and a half months and three times a week for the remainder of the first year of his probation. He was also ordered to attend a First Offenders Program, was fined $1,300, and his license was restricted for 90 days. He also volunteered to record a public service announcement.

In a October 12, 2006 interview with Diane Sawyer, Gibson spoke on his struggle to remain sober.

"The risk of everything - life, limb, family - is not enough to keep you from it… You cannot do it of yourself. And people can help, yeah. But it's God. You've got to go there. You've got to do it. Or you won't survive…This whole experience in a way, for me, I'm sort of viewing it now as a kind of a blessing because, firstly, I got stopped before I did any real damage to anyone else. Thank God for that. I didn't hurt myself, you know. I didn't leave my kids fatherless… The other thing is sometimes you need a cold bucket of water in the face to sort of snap to because you're dealing with a sort of a malady of the soul, an obsession of the mind and a physical allergy. And some people need a big tap on the shoulder. In my case, public humiliation on a global scale seems to be what was required."

At a May 2007 progress hearing, Gibson was praised for his compliance with the terms of his probation, his extensive participation in a self-help program, beyond what was required. Philanthropy

Although the Gibsons have avoided publicity about their philanthropy, they are believed to contribute a substantial amount of money to various charities, one of which is Healing the Children. According to Cris Embleton, one of the founders, the Gibsons have given millions to provide lifesaving medical treatment to needy children worldwide. The Gibsons have also supported the arts, funding the restoration of Renaissance artwork and giving millions of dollars to NIDA.

While filming Apocalypto in the jungles of Mexico's Veracruz state, Mel Gibson donated one million dollars to the Rotary Club to build houses for poor people in the region after some severe flooding wiped out many homes, stating:

"[T]hey had a lot of floods down there. It was like Louisiana down there in the southern regions. They had severe flooding and something like a million people were displaced and washed out. I've always been of the opinion that if you go into someone else's country to make a film you don't just go in there and stomp all over the place. You bring a gift. It's like going to somebody's house. You bring them a bottle of wine or a bunch of flowers or a box of chocolates and it's the same sort of thing on a big scale when you're going in to somebody's country and they are going to help you make your film. You help them first somehow or you give them a gift or you help in what way you can. So we sort of assisted with the flood relief stuff down there."

Gibson has been involved in discreetly assisting members of the entertainment community with substance abuse problems. He worked behind the scenes to get Robert Downey, Jr. help while at Corcoran State Prison. Hole rocker Courtney Love praised Mel Gibson for saving her from a drug relapse after the Hollywood actor helped force her into rehab. Gibson sought to help the musician at a hotel in Los Angeles when he heard she was using drugs again. Love later recalled,

"I kept slamming the door in (Gibson's) face. There were two drug people with me who wouldn't leave, so they couldn't get me to rehab. But because of Mel, two drug people ran off to have a cheeseburger with him because he's Mel, and then Warren [Boyd] (her drug minder) could get me into rehab."

Gibson donated $500,000 to the El Mirador Basin Project to protect the last tract of virgin rain forest in Central America and to fund archeological excavations in the "cradle of Mayan civilization." In July 2007, Gibson again visited Central America to make arrangements for donations to the indigenous population. Gibson met with Costa Rican President Oscar Arias to discuss how to "channel the funds." During the same month, Gibson pledged to give financial assistance to a Malaysian company named Green Rubber Global for a tire recycling factory located in Gallup, New Mexico. While on a business trip to Singapore in September 2007, Gibson donated to a local charity for children with chronic and terminal illnesses. In September 2008, the Gibsons donated $50,000 to the Kidney Foundation of Fiji. The check was delivered by son Milo, who stated he loved Fiji and his family was grateful to be able to help the organization