The two married in 1991 and separated in June 2000.
Meg Ryan is a '90s rom-com legend but has spent much of the recent years out of the spotlight. The actress had a high-profile relationship with actor Dennis Quaid after the pair fell in love while filming the 1988 movie D.O.A., five years after Quaid divorced his first wife, actress P.J. Soles. After three years of dating, the couple decided to tie the knot in 1991. They welcomed their son Jack Quaid in 1992 but finally decided to split in 2000.
Quaid, 68, previously said on Megyn Kelly Today that his 9-year marriage to Ryan was "the most successful relationship of my life." But he confessed that he felt overshadowed by Ryan during their marriage. "
"When we met I was the big deal," Quaid said, adding that his career later dipped while hers peaked in the '90s. "We'd go out on the streets of New York and it would be like, 'Meg! Meg!' And I have to admit it, I actually did feel like I disappeared. I didn't think I was that small, but I was. It was a growth opportunity—I learned from that." As for the Sleepless in Seattle actress, she felt she was villainized for breaking up the marriage amid her brief relationship with actor Russell Crowe. Ryan moved away from the public eye for a while and only spoke about the divorce in 2008. She felt she had gone from being called America’s Sweetheart to a self-described "scarlet woman."
According to TODAY, she told Instyle that her affair with Crowe wasn't what broke her marriage. "It was a great story. But what wasn't in the story was the reality of my marriage for nine years. Dennis was not faithful to me for a long time, and that was very painful. I found out more about that once I was divorced," said the actress.
Russell Crowe and Meg Ryan in Proof of Life (2000) pic.twitter.com/GgfgxHT2zS
— Frame Found (@framefound) March 3, 2019
Ryan also mentioned that Crowe had been unfairly implicated in her marital struggles. "I think he took a big hit," she said, "But Russell didn't break up the marriage. He was definitely there at the end, but it wasn't his fault. I was a mess. I hurt him, too, at the end. I couldn't be in another long relationship, it wasn't the time for that. So I got out."
"I am not a victim," she continued. "My time as a scarlet woman was really interesting. As painful as it was, it was also incredibly liberating. I didn't have to care about what people thought." Since then, Ryan has loved living out of the spotlight and enjoys a private life.
References:
https://www.today.com/popculture/meg-ryan-says-dennis-quaid-cheated-her-wbna26859077
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Dan Callister
