Dennis Quaid Says Meg Ryan's Fame Affected Their Relationship: 'I Disappeared'

Dennis Quaid is reflecting on his 10-year marriage to Meg Ryan.

Dennis Quaid is reflecting on his 10-year marriage to Meg Ryan.

The 64-year-old actor sat down for an intimate interview with Megyn Kelly that aired on Monday on NBC, in which he talked about his relationship with Ryan. Quaid and Ryan married in 1991, and their divorce was finalized in 2001. They share one child together, 26-year-old Jack.

Quaid said that when he was engaged to Ryan, he told her about his cocaine addiction at the time and checked himself into rehab. Later, he says he experienced a career slump after he got clean, while Ryan's career soared. In a memorable 2008 InStyle interview, Ryan acknowledged having had an affair with her Proof of Life co-star, Russell Crowe, but claimed that Quaid was unfaithful to her during their marriage as well.

“My most successful relationship of my life," Quaid now says when asked about Ryan, whom he met on the set of 1987's Innerspace. "We met and I was the big deal ... then we'd be out in the streets of New York and they'd be like, 'Meg, Meg!'"

"And I have to admit I kind of did feel like I disappeared," he continues. "I didn't think I was that small, but I was. It was a growth opportunity. I learned from that."

Quaid is playing late President Ronald Reagan in an upcoming biopic, and reflected on his own love life in comparison to Reagan's incredible relationship with wife Nancy. Quaid has been married and divorced three times, and says he isn't sure yet if he has found that type of "close intimacy with one person for their entire life."

"Isn't what what everybody wants?" he says.

The father of three is currently in a relationship with 32-year-old model Santa Auzina, whom he's been dating since 2016.

"I like being in a relationship," Quaid says. "I do. It's more fun."

As for their age difference, he notes, "She and I, we don't think about it. I'm sure a lot of people do, but hey, they just have to get used to it."

Later in the interview, Quaid also reflects on his many A-list co-stars. The actor appears to tear up when talking about the late Natasha Richardson -- whom he starred with in 1998's The Parent Trap, which he credits with reviving his career -- and also Lindsay Lohan. 

“She was one of the most talented people I ever met," he says of Lohan, who had to play two characters in The Parent Trap -- twins Annie and Hallie. "But for 11 years old when I met her, when we were doing the film, she had me believing there were twins. For real.”

For more on Quaid's relationship with Auzina, watch the video below:

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