John Mellencamp has nothing but affection for ex-fiancée Meg Ryan — but fears she may not share the same sentiment.
“I love Meg Ryan. I went with her for 10 years,” the musician, 71, said in an interview with Esquire that was published on Tuesday, June 13. “She doesn’t love me so much. She’s a great girl. I’m just a s—y boyfriend.”
Mellencamp and Ryan, 61, were first linked in 2011. The on-and-off pair broke up in 2014 before reconciling months later but split again in 2015. They reunited once more in 2017 and got engaged the following year.
Ryan announced the duo’s plans to wed in November 2018 — one day after she was spotted with a brand new diamond ring on her finger. “ENGAGED!” the You’ve Got Mail actress — who shares son Jack Quaid, 31, with ex-husband Dennis Quaid — captioned a sweet snap via Instagram at the time.
The “Jack and Diane” singer, meanwhile, opened up about how lucky he was to be saying “I do” to the Sleepless in Seattle star during a one-on-one interview with Today.
“I’m engaged at 67 to a very funny woman. Funniest woman I’ve ever met,” the “Hurts So Good” singer — who is a father of five children including Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum Teddi Mellencamp — gushed in December 2018. “One can well imagine, I’m probably not the easiest guy to get along with. So let’s leave it at that.”
In August 2019, Ryan told InStyle that she and John were slowly planning their nuptials but were in no rush to walk down the aisle. “Yes, I’m going to get married at some point. But for now this engagement thing is a state of grace,” she told the outlet.
Ryan later opened up about what drew her to the Indiana native. “What’s great about now is that John and I are so free to have fun. Maybe that freedom is about being a million years old,” she told the New York Times that same month. “But I sometimes think relationships are for aliens. Who does it? Who can do it? I don’t know how any of us ever do.”
The pair ultimately called it quits for good later that year, with a source exclusively telling Us Weekly at the time that Ryan “had enough” and called off their engagement. “She has no regrets,” the insider added.
Despite their multiple ups and downs, John told Esquire on Monday that the duo definitely had their fair share of fun over the years — especially when their romance was first blossoming.
“Meg Ryan had just come out of her shell; I had just come out of my shell. We started dating. And we decided to do things on our own instead of having people do stuff for us,” he recalled. “We were so f—king lost. We didn’t know how to do anything. I’ve never checked out of a hotel by myself. … We laughed at how stupid we are, so hard we cried. I think she’s learned how to do everything, and I’ve learned how to do nothing.”
Prior to his rocky relationship with the When Harry Met Sally actress, the “Small Town” crooner was married three times. He wed pregnant girlfriend Priscilla Esterline in 1970, and the twosome welcomed daughter Michelle six months later. After divorcing Esterline in 1981, John tied the knot with Victoria Granucci — with whom he later welcomed daughters Teddi and Justice — but they called it quits in 1989. He also shares two sons, Hud and Speck, with third wife Elaine Irwin, whom he wed in 1992. The pair split in 2010 after nearly two decades of marriage.
Ryan, for her part, divorced the Parent Trap star, 69, in 2001 after her affair with Russell Crowe. She and Dennis had been married for nine years at the time.
In 2003, City of Angels star got candid about facing life in the spotlight after her failed marriage made headlines, telling InStyle that the A Beautiful Mind actor, 59, didn’t “break up” her marriage to Dennis. She also claimed that Goliath alum was also unfaithful while the pair were together.
“Dennis was not faithful to me for a long time, and that was very painful,” she told the outlet. “I found out more about that once I was divorced.”
