Musician John Mellencamp recently opened up about his complex, on-again, off-again relationship with actress Meg Ryan, which spanned a decade. Despite their final split in 2019, Mellencamp expressed continued affection for Ryan, acknowledging his own shortcomings in the relationship.
“I love Meg Ryan. I went with her for ten years,” Mellencamp stated in an Esquire article. He candidly added, “She doesn’t love me so much. She’s a great girl. I’m just a s---ty boyfriend.”
The pair initially connected in 2010, following Mellencamp's divorce from his third wife, Elaine Irwin, and Ryan's divorce from Dennis Quaid. Mellencamp described their early days together as a time of mutual vulnerability and a shared learning curve in navigating life's everyday tasks. He recounted amusing anecdotes about their struggles with simple things like grocery shopping, highlighting their unfamiliarity with self-service checkouts.
Their relationship saw a temporary break in 2014, during which Mellencamp was linked to supermodel Christie Brinkley. However, Mellencamp and Ryan rekindled their romance in 2017 and announced their engagement the following year. Mellencamp described Ryan as the “funniest woman I’ve ever met,” acknowledging the challenges of being in a relationship with him. Ryan herself spoke of the engagement as a “state of grace” in an interview in 2019.
Despite the optimism surrounding their engagement, the relationship ultimately ended in October 2019. Mellencamp's recent reflections offer a glimpse into the complexities of their long and winding romance.
