Meg Ryan’s Ex-fiancé John Mellencamp Gushes over New Love at 71 after Admitting Being a Bad Partner to Actress

• Meg Ryan dated John Mellencamp on and off for around ten years, and they even got engaged.
• Besides the singer blaming himself for their break up, something else played a part in their relationship's conclusion.
• Now Mellencamp's got a new girlfriend who just recently lost her husband and is not much older than his first child.

In January 2011, reports revealed that Meg Ryan and John Mellencamp were in a relationship after the pair were spotted holding hands while shopping in New York. The actress and the rock singer also bonded on Martha's Vineyard.

A witness who saw them at New York's Gourmet Garage said they appeared happy and at ease with each other. The source noted how Ryan usually visited the store on her own or with her daughter, and when she was seen with Mellencamp, they thought he was her husband.

The insider said the "Proof of Life" actress and the singer-songwriter seemed "like an old married couple." A different source revealed that the pair had been dating for around seven weeks when they were seen after Mellencamp announced in December 2010 that he and his wife, Elaine, were separating.

The musician was married three times and fathered five children, while the actress was married once to Dennis Quaid for ten years and welcomed their son, Jack Henry, before separating in 2001. Ryan is also a parent to daughter Daisy True, whom she adopted in 2006 from China.

Speaking to "Today" in December 2018 about the progression of his relationship with the actress, Mellencamp confessed that they were engaged after being together for ten years. The "No Better Than This" singer said it took so long for them to get engaged because he is challenging to get along with.

Even though Ryan and the rock singer took a decade before deciding they wanted to get married, that didn't prevent their relationship from falling apart. After breaking up, Mellencamp revealed how his ex-fiancée felt about him.

What Caused Meg and John to Break Up?

During a June 2023 interview with Esquire, Mellencamp spoke about his relationship with Ryan, noting how they started dating after coming out of their shells. One of the things they chose to do at the time was to be independent by doing things for themselves instead of getting others to do them.

However, it was an uphill battle as they needed to learn how to do things like check themselves out of hotels. At one point, they visited a grocery store and were asked for their credit card to pay, and when they handed it over, the cashier told them they had to put it into a machine.

The two stars didn't know what happened after that and laughed so hard at how "stupid" they felt that they cried. The musician believed Ryan eventually learned how to do these everyday things while he learned nothing, and even though it was years after their relationship concluded, Mellencamp shared:

"I love Meg Ryan. I went with her for ten years. She doesn't love me so much."

The rock singer described the actress as a "great girl" before admitting he was a bad boyfriend. The musician and Ryan ended their relationship in August 2014, mainly due to long distance, before the former moved on to date Christie Brinkley.

It seemed he and the actress would never reconcile until they were seen together in April 2018. At the time, the pair was seen shopping on a rainy SoHo, Manhattan day before their engagement that same year, and despite Mellencamp telling Howard Stern on his SiriusXM show in 2017:

"I loved Meg Ryan. She hates me to death. . . I think it's because I'm a child."

Ryan's ex admitted to griping, throwing fits, complaining, and being moody. The star said anything a guy could be was who he was before noting how the actress wanted nothing to do with him, and he couldn't blame her.

The event was held at Los Angeles' Unincorporated Life, and the new couple was seen bonding while standing on a street corner.

Despite everything negative he said about himself, Mellencamp still found love again. However, his new woman is not much older than his firstborn child.

Who Is John's Current Partner?

Mellencamp graduated high school before eloping with his pregnant girlfriend, Priscilla Esterline. At 19, he became a first-time father when they welcomed their daughter, Michelle, six months later. The duo divorced in 1981.

In 2017, he revealed how he never cared about his image but only about his family and children. In August 2023, the artist confessed to dating multimillionaire socialite Kristin Kehrberg, Richard "Dick" Tarlow's widow.

The star revealed that he and Kehrberg, six years older than Michelle, 51, met "unexpectedly" when she was with friends and walked into his New York apartment. The rock star said Kehrberg, 57, didn't know he'd be there and he was not expecting her.

After meeting, they started dating, and they've never left each other's side since. Although they've only been together for around seven months, the "Jack & Diane" singer feels they are well matched as she's "never" gotten mad at him, something he laughs about in disbelief. But he credits her "high threshold for tolerance" for it.

The widow, a mother to two sons, has been easing into Mellencamp's family life as well. In August 2023, she was seen cuddling the 71-year-old singer outside his granddaughter's Slate's fashion show at Los Angeles' Unincorporated Life,

The new couple was seen bonding while standing on a street corner. The duo, who seemed to be making it work despite their significant age gap, hugged and chatted for a while before parting ways.

In his Esquire interview, Mellencamp revealed he wished to live until 80, which is some 10 years to go. Ryan's former lover asked the interviewer if they knew how fast ten years go by for him and that ten summers are short.

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