Richard Gere and Cindy Crawford divorced after four years of marriage as they barely had time for each other.
When things are in the process of going wrong in a relationship, the red flags may not be clearly visible at first. It's only later that we recognize them and are able to learn from them. For instance, if a partner can't make up his mind about committing long term until they get an ultimatum, it may not always bode well for that relationship.
It's been more than three decades since Richard Gere, 71, and Cindy Crawford, 54, were the "It Couple." She was a supermodel and he was a very in-demand actor. Both of them were known for their attractiveness, and together they were one of the most famous couples in the world back then. They met in 1988 at a backyard barbecue hosted by a mutual friend, Los Angeles-based photographer Herb Ritts, as per People Magazine. He was 39 and she was 22 when they met.
Even with a large age gap, they were able to have a solid relationship for years, until their busy lives caught up with them. However, Gere wasn't quite ready to commit. "I was a holdout at age 42, and this woman who I was crazy about and loved very much said, 'I can’t wait. I gotta move on if it ain’t happening,'" he said, as per Mirror.
The Pretty Woman actor caved after receiving the ultimatum and they got married. But, their wedding was less than ideal and not well-planned. The signs were there that this relationship wouldn't have lasted. If a partner can't even be bothered to make the day special for their loved one, it shows exactly how much they value the person.
Their wedding was a last-minute affair with the actor taking a break from filming his upcoming movie Mr. Jones. On December 21, 1991, he took Crawford and their close friends to Las Vegas from Los Angeles on a private jet. They went to the Little Chapel of the West, where Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton had previously wed, for their shotgun wedding. This wasn't the only thing that happened on a whim that day.
The supermodel didn't have a white wedding dress and instead, walked down the aisle in a navy suit from Armani. The catwalk pro probably made everything look good but what woman won't want a white wedding, right?
One would imagine that they would have at least exchanged a wedding band during their unconventional ceremony, but that was not the case. They fashioned rings out of aluminum foil to give each other. Perhaps, back then, they were just happy to be together, but there was lingering resentment.
"It wasn’t the wedding I dreamed of. It was so last minute," said the supermodel.
Despite the unorthodox wedding, they stayed committed to each other, and after a few years together, she wanted to start a family. The Primal Fear actor was "resistant" back then with his career at its height, but she was more than ready. "I feel that’s the thing in my life I’m going to be best at, being a mother," she said. But Gere thought differently. "I am a child," he said, reported People Magazine.
Unfortunately, they didn't have the right timing and their priorities were different. Their marriage lasted only four years and they divorced in 1995. The main reason that it didn't work out was their busy schedules. They were hardly together during the course of their marriage.
"We didn’t spend enough time together. And we’re equally responsible for that. We thought it would be okay if we just flew in from Paris to L.A. to get together for a night to see each other. It wasn’t," she said, as quoted by Mirror.
Eventually, they found love again, and Crawford got her white wedding with Rande Gerber in 1998. They have been together ever since. Gere is married to his third wife, Alejandra Silva. He has a son with his second wife, Carey Lowell, and two more with Silva.
References:
https://people.com/archive/cover-story-true-romance-vol-40-no-16/
https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/cindy-crawford-richard-geres-whirlwind-23146005
