Meg Ryan is, without a doubt, the queen of the rom-com, at least in our opinion. She became known as the “rom-com queen” because of her leading performances in several movies, including When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, and Kate & Leopold (via IMDb).
Her character in real life sometimes differed from that of her performances, which tended to be quite pure and lovable. Ryan worked with Russell Crowe on the movie Proof of Life in 2000 when they were both married to other actors Dennis Quaid and Amy Ryan.
The tabloids erupted in outrage when scandalous images of the couple cuddling on set surfaced (via Entertainment Weekly). After having an affair with Crowe for a short while, Ryan finally divorced Quaid and moved on from him as well. The actions of the public’s favorite girl-next-door at the time very much outraged everyone.
The tabloid incident, in the opinion of many, never truly allowed her career to recover fully. How did Meg Ryan and Russell Crowe interact? The whole account of their short but very visible romance is provided here.
Russell Crowe And Meg Ryan Met While Filming
The turmoil all started on the set of the 2000 movie Proof of Life, which featured Meg Ryan and Russell Crowe. Ryan played Alice, a lady who learns her husband has been abducted, and Crowe played Terry, a rescuer of kidnappees, in the movie.
A spark between Terry and Alice starts to fly as they collaborate to rescue Alice’s spouse. It turns out that sparks were flying in real life as well. After being captured in a picture exiting a Tom Cruise party, Ryan and Crowe reportedly announced their romance to the world in July 2000, according to the New York Post.
This was after, according to the tabloid, many weeks of an alleged extramarital relationship in which they had “been spotted kissing and nuzzling in restaurants and clubs all around London” while shooting Proof of Life.
The tabloids’ obsession is understandable. When Ryan’s relationship with Crowe first came to light, Ryan’s husband, Dennis Quaid, had just announced that he was divorcing Ryan, according to an article from Entertainment Weekly at the time.
Dennis Quaid And Meg Ryan’s Marriage Was Already Having Trouble At The Time.
Meg Ryan was previously married to actor Dennis Quaid before she met Russell Crowe at work. The nine-year marriage must have been quite rough before then. Ryan discussed the status of her marriage at the time in an interview with InStyle, which was carried by Today.
Dennis was unfaithful to her for a longer period, which was dreadful, she claimed. She continued by saying that she was only made aware of the full scope of his alleged adultery after the conclusion of the divorce. Following the announcement of the divorce in 2000, Quaid was allegedly spotted with ladies like model Mar Saura (via Cinema.com).
It turns out, however, that there may have been other issues in the marriage than adultery. Ryan’s celebrity contributed to their marital issues, Quaid said to ET Canada in 2018. I must admit, I did feel as if I disappeared, he remarked. It makes sense that Russell Crowe was, at the moment, a nice diversion from her failing marriage.
Russell Crowe Wasn’t At Fault For Meg Ryan And Dennis Quaid’s Famous Divorce.
Russell Crowe wasn’t actually at fault, despite the widespread belief that Meg Ryan’s friendship with Quaid might have been the last straw for Dennis Quaid. Ryan spoke openly about her public divorce during an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
She then discussed Crowe’s role in the divorce after noting how terrible it was for her divorce to be so public. She said, “My marriage was a dysfunctional marriage, and I definitely should have left it much sooner.” It was never about another guy, she continued, alluding to Crowe.
She concluded by stating, “I think if the tabloids get a hold of three major names, you’re just truly in danger.” It seems as if the tabloids presented a false picture of reality!
Ryan discussed Crowe’s involvement in her divorce narrative in an interview with InStyle. I think he was hit rather badly, she said. “However, Russell didn’t end the marriage. Certainly there at the conclusion, but not at fault.”
Meg Ryan Was Unaware Of The Relationship Rumors That Were “All Over The Press” About Her And Russell Crowe.
What was it like for Meg Ryan to be featured in tabloids with her new boyfriend, Russell Crowe, in reality? Well, it was all pretty theatrical, as Ryan told The Guardian. She thought back to a day when she had entered a hotel lobby. It was in the One Aldwych Hotel, she said. I was walking into the lobby when everything stopped.
Everyone paused their conversation to look at me.” Ryan reportedly entered the elevator and “simply began laughing” rather than allowing it to affect her. She discovered that “if you know yourself,” it was feasible to manage the public’s opinion.
She went into further depth with Today about this emotion of letting go. “Knowing that you can never genuinely control a picture or a narrative and ceasing to care about them is a tremendous gift. As a result, I had the impression that I was the villain in the tale.”
However, she recalled letting go of the desire to reprimand anybody, she said. We must admit that we are pleased with her for being able to shrug off all of the media attention and scrutiny!
Did Russell Crow And Meg Ryan’s Romance Develop Too Quickly?
After her disastrous marriage to Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan saw Russell Crowe as the ideal cure. At the time, a pal said to People, “They had wonderful conversations and often emailed one other, so it was clear that they were passionate with each other.
He often phoned her.” According to the publication’s subsequent reporting, Ryan and Crowe were often seen together throughout the globe, first in Santa Monica and later in Australia, where Crowe had a large estate. The new pair allegedly even claimed to be house searching, according to Ryan’s acquaintance. The companion responded, “It was sweet.” How about that one? He would ask, pointing.
Ryan was “very fascinated” with Crowe, according to another acquaintance who made the statement. He is a difficult thing to resist, Carrie Fisher, the actress’ pal, acknowledged. It seems that Crowe had similar sentiments for Ryan. Russell intended to get married and have a family with Ryan, according to one acquaintance.
Despite this, the relationship didn’t survive long, and it seems that his excitement may have been “too much too soon.”
Conclusion –
Meg Ryan and Russell Crowe remained friends, even though they later both found other, more fulfilling relationships. John Mellencamp and Ryan started dating intermittently, and they even briefly got engaged. But after eight years of dating, Ryan broke up in 2019. According to a source who spoke to Us Weekly, “She’d had enough and terminated [their engagement].”
The singer Danielle Spencer was Crowe’s future wife, whom he wed in 2003. The couple did, however, divorce in 2017, having separated in 2012. The notorious “Art of Divorce” auction was even hosted by Crowe in 2018. (via The New York Times). Rumors about a rekindled affair between Ryan and Crowe started to surface in 2020.
According to one insider, as New Idea wrote, “They had this white-hot connection, but the timing was horrible.” She has given up on her relationship with John and is eager to try Russell once more, the person said. Naturally, there has been no confirmation of these reports.
One thing, though, is certain: Ryan and Crowe did have a unique bond during the time and are presumably going to remain close.