Quaid addressed all the jibes at him and took it in his stride, laughing it off. He also added that the opinion of others doesn't matter to him.
Love comes in all shapes and forms. There are no age barriers in love and people can barely control who they fall for. Sometimes, even an age gap of 40 years hardly seems like an issue because the kind of connection the two people in love feel goes above and beyond what the society thinks is right. After all, at the end of it, the person you adore is all that matters.
Actor Dennis Quaid, 66, who was once married to Meg Ryan, is currently engaged to Laura Savoie, an accounting Ph.D. student from the University of Texas. In June 2019, several media outlets had confirmed that they were dating and the couple got engaged in October in a surprise proposal. Quaid, who has been married and divorced thrice, popped to his 27-year-old girlfriend the question in Hawaii.
"It happened on the very northernmost point of Oahu, at Turtle Bay," the actor told Extra about the sunset proposal. "It was kind of spontaneous. It was very much a surprise," he added. He had been planning this moment for a month and a half but it didn't go as planned.
"I had the ring in my pocket … I wanted it to be private," he explained. "She was actually taking a selfie of us, and I put the ring in front and said, 'Will you marry me?'— and then she fell down," he added. The ring was vintage, designed by Giorgio Bulgari, according to Us Weekly.
The active couple has been previously snapped in Hawaii while they were paddleboarding in Honolulu's Waikiki. Prior to that, they were seen together vacationing in Lake Como, Italy. While Quaid tries to stay active to match his fiancée, 39 years younger than him, there have been many others who commented on their age-gap.
Quaid's ex-fiancée, actress Lea Thompson, as well as his co-star from The Parent Trap, actress Elaine Hendrix made a comment on his relationship. Thompson highlighted the age gap by tweeting, "(Savoie) was -10 when I was engaged to him." Thompson and Quaid never walked down the aisle together. Meanwhile, Hendrix said, "Watch out for those twins." She referred to the twins portrayed by Lindsay Lohan as Quaid's daughter in the 1998 movie.
With so many jibes coming his way, the 66-year-old, who had previously dated 34-year-old model Santa Auzina, took it all in his stride. "That was really a laugh,” he told the Guardian about the amount of attention he and his new fiance received. "I thought it was wonderful, actually." He was asked if he was bothered by the age gap, which is considered a taboo in today's society.
"No, it really doesn’t bother us," he said while shrugging away. "Everyone comes from the perspective of their own life and so I can’t comment on the way they feel; I can’t even get angry. I didn’t go out looking for an age gap or someone really younger than me. I met her at a business event and then the relationship developed. You have no control over who you fall in love with. I don’t fall in love easy. But I can’t let what a few people think control all that."
"I’ve been married three times and this is the final one, I know it is. I feel like I have a real partner in life," he added.
Quaid and his last ex-wife, Kimberly Buffington, 17 years his junior, separated after 14 years of marriage. They have 10-year-old twins Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace together. Prior to that, he was married to Meg Ryan, with whom he has a 27-year-old son Jack, who is also an actor. Before that, he was married to P. J. Soles from 1978 to 1983.
Previously, Quaid had revealed in April 2019 that he still loves Ryan, who is eight years younger than him, and whatever anger he had felt towards her had dissipated. Ryan had reportedly left him for Gladiator actor Russell Crowe. "I'm very fond of her and we have a lot of fun. We spent 13 good years together. We had a kid together and we shared so much: she made my life," Quaid told the Independent.
References:
https://extratv.com/2019/10/21/dennis-quaid-dishes-on-his-romantic-proposal-to-laura-savoie/
https://www.usmagazine.com/stylish/news/dennis-quaid-proposes-with-vintage-giorgio-bulgari-ring-details/
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/nov/25/dennis-quaid-i-didnt-go-looking-for-someone-younger-on-his-new-love-and-new-roles
https://www.independent.ie/style/celebrity/celebrity-features/dennis-quaid-on-why-he-still-loves-meg-ryan-38054095.html
