When it comes to rom-coms, it’s pretty much an undisputed fact that Meg Ryan reigns supreme.
At the time, the public was pretty scandalized by their favorite girl-next-door’s behavior.
Many believe that her career never really recovered from the tabloid scandal.
But what really happened between Meg Ryan and Russell Crowe?
Here is the full story about their brief but very publicloveaffair.
As Terry and Alice work together to save Alice’s husband, sparks begin to fly between them.
It turns out the sparks were flying in real life too.
Apparently, the nine-year marriage was already pretty rocky.
But it turns out, infidelity was perhaps not the only problem in the marriage.
In 2018, Quaid confessed toET Canadathat Ryan’s fame contributed to their marital troubles.
“I have to admit it, I actually did feel like I disappeared,” he revealed.
It’s no wonder that Russell Crowe was a welcome distraction from her failing marriage at the time.
In an interview onThe Oprah Winfrey Show, Ryan opened up about her public divorce.
She then explained, “It was never about another man,” referring to Crowe.
It sounds like the tabloids really did paint an alternate version of reality!
In an interview forInStyle, Ryan reflected on how Crowe had become embroiled in the story of her divorce.
“I think he took a big hit,” she said (viaToday).
“But Russell didn’t break up the marriage.
He was definitely there at the end, but it wasn’t his fault.”
Well, as Ryan explained toThe Guardian,it was all very dramatic!
She recalled one instance when she walked into a hotel lobby.
“It was in One Aldwych Hotel,” she said.
People stopped talking and stared at me."
Luckily, she found it possible to handle the public’s judgement “if you know yourself.”
She explained this feeling of letting go in more detail toToday.
I felt the effect, like I was the bad guy or whatever the story was."
She added, “But I remember letting go of needing to correct anybody.”
We have to say we’re impressed that she managed to laugh off so much public scrutiny and attention!
Did Meg Ryan and Russell Crow’s relationship move too fast?
For Meg Ryan, Russell Crowe seemed like the perfect tonic after her failed marriage with Dennis Quaid.
He called her all the time."
According to Ryan’s friend, the new couple even pretended they were house-hunting.
“It was sweet,” the friend said.
“He’d point and say, ‘How about that one?'”
Another friend described Ryan as being “extremely infatuated” with Crowe.
Apparently, Crowe felt the same way about Ryan.
One friend suggested that Russell wanted to tie the knot and start a family with Ryan.
Suddenly, she was branded as a “scarlet woman,” as Ryan herself explained toWmagazine(viaE!
“My time as a scarlet woman was really interesting,” she confessed.
“As painful as it was, it was also incredibly liberating.”
As she summed up, “I didn’t have to care about what people thought.”
As theDaily Mailnoted, Ryan finally broke her silence on the affair almost eight years after it happened.
It’s easy to see why the couple wanted to keep things as quiet as possible.
Sounds like the couple realized it would be impossible to ever get the real story out there anyway!
It seems that Ryan and Crowe knew that their romance was the talk of the town.
Unfortunately, this did not sit well with Taylor Hackford, the film’s director.
Yikes, sounds like he wished his stars had kept things professional!
It turns out, Crowe didn’t share his director’s opinions.
Apparently, when he heard about the comment, he replied, “He said that?
He’s a f***ing idiot.
No seriously what a knob.”
“I was a mess.
I hurt him too at the end,” she recalled.
“I couldn’t be in another long relationship.
It wasn’t the time for that.
So I got out,” she went on.
One friend explained, “Nobody corrected the misperception.
He [Crowe] never came to her aid.
It still works to humiliate her.”
He added, “I’m an expert at unrequited love.”
It sounds like Crowe had been eager to make things work with Ryan.
However, since the tabloid story, her career has never really been the same.
The scandal that surrounded her affair with Crowe appeared to have a detrimental effect on her good girl image.
Apparently, producers started to look elsewhere for their rom-com leading ladies.
Of course, there are other reasons why Ryan’s career shifted.
According to Ryan, it was a racy role that was the culprit.
As she toldThe New York Times, “I think the feeling with Hollywood was mutual.
I felt done when they felt done, probably.”
I grieve the loss of her companionship, but I haven’t lost her friendship."
Crowe spoke about the failed relationship again in 2002 to ABC’sPrimetime(viaIrish Examiner).
“She is a very important person to me,” he said.
He even revealed that they’d spoke on the phone the night before for two hours.
It’s clear that the relationship between Ryan and Crowe remained incredibly strong, despite the heartbreak.
Ryan began dating John Mellencamp on and off, and even became engaged to him for a short time.
However, in 2019, Ryan reportedly ended things after eight years together.
As a source toldUs Weekly, “She’d had enough and ended [their engagement].”
As for Crowe, he went on to marry singer Danielle Spencer in 2003.
However, the pair split in 2012, and finalized their divorce in 2017.
Of course, these rumors are yet to be confirmed.
