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Last week, John Mellencamp and his wife of 20 years, Elaine Irwin, announced their split. I honestly didn’t remember that they were still together, so I greeted the news with a solid “meh.” According to Us Weekly’s source, “They are both devastated and upset about it, but it was really her decision.” Their official announcement came via John’s rep, though, and it was: “John and Elaine Mellencamp are proud of their 20 years together and are very happy with their accomplishments both as parents and as a family. They will continue to raise their two children in Indiana but have decided to all it a day as a couple.” BUT – what looked like a not-that-scandalous split is starting to look more interesting. A few months ago, there was an odd photo of John and Meg Ryan, sharing a laugh together in New York City (photo here). Now Page Six has brought it up, wondering if Meg is “the other woman” here:
John Mellencamp, who split with his wife of 18 years, has recently made himself a new friend — Meg Ryan.
A source tells us the 59-year-old rocker, who this week announced he and his model wife, Elaine Irwin, are splitting up, has struck up a friendship with Ryan, 49. He and Ryan, who had their biggest years in the ’80s, were photographed arm-in-arm walking in TriBeCa in late October, and she has since been spotted backstage at dates on his tour. A source told us, “Meg has been to a couple of recent shows.”
Mellencamp’s publicist, Bob Merlis, announced on Thursday that he and Irwin had split after 18 years of marriage. He declined to say if they’d filed for divorce, but did say, “They will continue to raise their two children in Indiana but have decided to call it a day as a couple.”
Merlis, who last month denied to Page Six that Mellencamp was splitting from his wife, last night said he had no further comment. Ryan’s rep didn’t return calls or e-mails.
Mellencamp became famous in the late ’70s under the stage name John Cougar. His hits include “Jack and Diane” and “Hurts So Good.” He’s now in the middle of a US tour to promote his new album, “No Better Than This,” which continues until April.
He recently said he was working with producer T Bone Burnett on a musical, “Ghost Brothers of Darkling County,” and Ryan was voicing one of the characters.
He told the Chicago Tribune: “If you could imagine Tennessee Williams meets Stephen King. They’re recording the dialogue now, and we’re putting out a record of the entire show before it comes out. Right now, Elvis Costello, Meg Ryan, Kris Kristofferson and Matthew McConaughey are doing table readings like an old radio play . . . The CD will come out ahead of time, and then Liv Ullmann will be directing the play.”
[From Page Six]
Hm. Sounds like Meg and John are friends. Look, I’m the first one to jump on some piece of juicy “homewrecker” gossip, but I’m just not feeling it with this one. One candid photo a few months ago and some reports that Meg has been to John’s show does not equal an affair, in my opinion. Of course, it could be that I just don’t see what any man sees in Meg Ryan anymore – she looks like twenty kinds of plastic surgery hell. If you’re John Mellencamp and you’re married to a lovely model-type who hasn’t carved up her face, why would you start screwing around with some chick who looks like Meg these days? Ugh.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Written by Kaiser
Posted in Divorces, John Mellencamp, Meg Ryan
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51 Responses to “Did John Mellencamp dump his wife for Meg Ryan?”
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Johnny Cougar’s ex wife (to be) looks like a much prettier version of Boobs Lively.
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I hated to hear they’re divorcing. To me the loss of 20 years of togetherness is a real shame.
Off thread: Did you see the pic of Val Kilmer on Us Mag? WTF happened to Val?
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His wife is really pretty. Meg Ryan looks like The Grinch nowadays (which is a shame…she used to be so cute back in the day).
Here:
http://www.sodahead.com/fun/does-meg-ryans-new-face-look-like-the-grinch/question-1252983/
And while I was looking for side-by-side pictures of them, I found this terrifying picture of Ryan:
http://prettyboring.com/files/images/meg%20ryan%20wtf%20face.png
*BARFS*
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Oh, Meg–you’re only 49. I’m sad (and creeped out) that she messed with her face. Look around! Is it that crucial to “look” younger? It doesn’t fool anyone.
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Elaine is a KNOCK-OUT. Wow.
Meg-oy vey….WHY???
I *heart* JCM! His tape was the first one I ever bought along with Till Tuesday.
I’m with you-not seeing this scandal.
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Not everything is about looks…maybe that’s why this is possible, because they’re actually friends with a real connection. Besides – if this were about looks, his wife would likely not have married him in the first place.
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Wow, Meg looks rough in that pic!
I’ll give her a pass on the face as that has been done. But, she needs to work on those arms and let her maid do the dishes. Those hands….
The former wife is really hot.. Mellencamp needs to go easy on the hair color.
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Ugh. Meg’s still looking like a demented chipmunk I see. Plastic surgery hell in excelsis.
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This is sad, no one stays together any more. Elaine Irwin is so pretty.
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they are a very scary looking pair. & his ex…so pretty. wth is he thinking.
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Elaine is georgeous. Love the dress & boots combo.
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In photo exhibit A, Meg is clearly holding onto his arm in a genteel way as a friend, and also to steady his gait; the man has a walking device. I see nothing afoul or afoot, nor is there any aura of gotta-have-it-ness exhuding from either of them.
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20 years is a long time together..but does anyone know if they were HAPPY years together.. obviously something was wrong or they would not be divorcing.
They had 20 years and didn’t have to worry about the press/public all over their relationship.. and it still ended..Such is life.
To me when people used the word America’s Sweetheart that term only applied to Meg Ryan. NO one else. Thing is that title pigeon holes you and it limits what the audience wants to see you do on the screen. We see today so many actresses 30 -40+ still living on that title. It does not work after a certain age. Meg Ryan was beyond cute. I guess she got scared when the cute started to face. LOOK around it is happening to a lot of women. Reverse Peter Pan thing.
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@brin
Just a little something to brighten your day…Ann Margaret, leggy-beautiful-sexy redhead from the 60′s and 70′s is still with her husband of 40 years.
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Elaine is not only beautiful, but you can still see her in ads in fashion magazines. The woman still models and still look classy . . . without cutting up her face!! So, there’s that.
Maybe Cougar had one too many affairs, or maybe Elaine had the affairs, and things went too far to turn back. They had 20 years together. Maybe that was enough and both wanted to leave and try something new. Whatever happened, I’m sad to see that the rags have decided to make up their own reasons. All three parties deserve better.
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@ Lisa:
To be fair, at least she tried something different from her usual romantic comedies — it’s the movie In The Cut, directed by Jane Campion. The movie is from 2003/2004 and she was starting to mess up her face but only her upper lip’s job is noticeable.
*In The Cut is not Campion best film but it’s enjoyable…I always like the way she shows women’s sexuality in her films. Plus, there’s a full frontal provided by a very very very sexy Mark Ruffalo.
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I hear the the hooves of the riders of the apocalypse coming closer.
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when did meg join the bobblehead club? sad.
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I thought John and Elaine would be together forever. I have the sads.
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Mellencamp lives in my town, and he and his (soon to be ex) wife are out and about here all the time. Elaine is absolutely gorgeous in person too, even when she’s just shopping at Target or whatever. Hopefully this doesn’t mean we’ll be subjected to Meg Ryan’s deformed face wandering our streets soon!
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Everyone’s commenting on Meg’s/Elaine’s looks, but I’m gonna have to go with: what the hell is up w/John’s looks? When I first saw the small pic w/the headline, I thought there was a pic of Wayne Newton there by mistake!
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If true, this proves that looks don’t matter. Who knows, Elaine M. may be a total pain in the ass, or John M. could be a guy who would get tired of any woman. She was his 3rd or 4th wife, after all.
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I think Elaine does the Almay TV commercials. She is really stunning.
It’s sad their marriage is over after 20 years and kids and all.
Seems like Meg is just a friend, and if she’s more, who knows when the marriage actually ended? She always makes me sad though – she was so cute and pretty and successful, and then everything sort of fell apart for her.
@Rita – OMG to the Val Kilmer photo!
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He is very unfortunate looking! How he scored his wife in the first place is beyond me. I’m sure he is a talented guy, but he looks like a midget compared to her. Him and Meg would make a better couple,they both look like garden gnomes.
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I didn’t realize how much I dislike Meg Ryan until I heard about this, because I’m such a Mellencamp fan (Lonesome Jubilee-Scarecrow era; “Minutes to Memories” in particular is a great song. It’ll be hard to listen to his music the same way again if this is true. And I believe it is, because John’s talked about his problems with infidelity.
Maybe Meg has a more captivating personality than I’d given her credit for. Mellencamp also paints and he grew as an artist, way beyond “Jack and Diane.” Meg is well-educated and an artist, so maybe they have an artistic or intellectual connection.
Meg was laugh-out-loud bad in “Courage Under Fire,” and her silly, scary persona creeps me out. Not that he’s looking his best anymore, either.
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It’s true that Meg’s surgery wasn’t the best — and seemed quite unnecessary when she got it.
John’s looks have spiraled due to health problems, smoking, heart attack(s), etc., and being ~60.
None of that has anything to do with his separation in all likelihhood. Sometimes, even good relationships run their course.
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Why is he holding a cane in that picture with Meg? They do look quite cozy with each other,maybe it makes them feel like it is the 80′s again being together. She always did have strange taste in men,IMO.
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Rita I checked that photo out and whoa, what happened. Val was so hot in his Top Gun & Thunderheart days, I wonder if he is on prednisone?
Meg Ryan was really good in Courage Under Fire, as well as In the cut. I agree Eve that full frontal scene with Marc Ruffalo is niiiiicce.
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@Lucy2 & Mizz
Off Thread: I hope Val’s okay but it looks like his biological clock (ala My Cousin Viny-foot stomp foot stomp) has tick down to zero and is ready to explode.
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Plastic surgery hell, Meg? LOL I agree back when she did the fish lips and filler she looked strange. But that photo her lips are back looking normal. She has a lot of sagginess around her upper eyelids and lower, so definitely no eye job. Lines on her forehead. She has smile lines. No fake cheek implants like others. She looks 49. What’s plastic? What in the world are you guys seeing to say she messed up her face. It’s the face of an almost fifty-year-old that looks decent for her age.
And, John, at your age the hair looks too fake in color. Leave a little gray when you’re dyeing it.
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I agree with Jayna; most of Meg’s face is what happens when you get older. It happens! She’s eased up on the fillers and most of that is natural.
Elaine Irwin (from my PA hometown!) was and is gorgeous. She was right up there with all the top models (Turlington, Evangelista, Crawford) before she married John. I’m glad she still gets work; she’s prettier than any of those other models.
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@Jayna I think if you look at old pictures of Meg, you’ll see that the plastic surgery look is still in effect. Her nose is way smaller now and that has thrown off the balance she used to have in her face, even with her lips looking more normal.
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come on you know men–he probably feels more comfortable w/Meg’s face..
a face you can trust not to creep out on you, just kinda CREEP you out!Men can be complete fools.
I think, Old Meg may be a freak in the bedroom–shudders–
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Didn’t the tabloids say Meg brokeup Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins relationship? I find it hard to believe that men think she’s so hot.
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Elaine’s not a model type, she’s a straight up supermodel. Love her.
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JZHZ Loved your comment LOL.
I used to be bothered by Meg’s new face until I saw the photo of her upper arms — that’s scary! What on earth is she doing in a strapless dress when she’s got the arms of a starving 90-year-old? I bet Dennis Quaid is now relieved that she left him.
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Walking device??? I was thinking quad cane and then I saw him with this walking stick. It’s not a real cane–it’s an affectation. And he’s grabbing Ryan’s arm. My guess is that he was getting her interested in his project. I think these rags were just so desperate for any kind of news that they just fantasized this. Geez, if they are going to do that, why not have him hooking up with Matthew M., also in his show?
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How old was Elaine when they met?? They’ve been together 20 years? She looks like she’s in her 30′s IF THAT. Wow. Totally gorgeous.
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@ Rita… totally agree with Val Kilmer..
Didnt Meg have an affair with Russell Crowe?
John’s wife is gorgeous…
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when did meg ryan turn into the joker?
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He’s starting to look like Billy Bob Thornton.
(this is NOT a good thing)
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Remember when Meg Ryan and Russell Crowe were a power couple? It seems like a lifetime ago now.
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Elaine is gorgeous! Love her dress…
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Is it just me or is he looking like Mickey Rourke’s double?
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I don’t care for Meg Ryan, or her plastic surgery, but I do think she got a bum rap for that Russell Crowe thing. She said in recent years that Dennis Quaid had not been faithful to her “for a long time”, and I believe her – he used to have a bad coke habit when he was younger and was pretty wild. His cheating was away from the cameras, is all.
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What a douche.
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“…who had their biggest years in the ’80s”?? I love how they make sure to mention that both of them are past their prime!
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Why does Meg Ryan ALWAYS get herself mentioned creating/being inside marital breakups? Is it just coincidence that she was also photographed with Tim Robbins moments after his separation was announced. Hmmmmmm. (I really don’t know….people actually do just cry on other people’s shoulders who have gone through one already….it COULD be completely innocent.)
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Elaine was 23 when they met. Whirlwind courtship. They were engaged after 10 weeks.
Check out this photo of John with his gray growing in:
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/lifestyle/people/john-mellencamps-marriage-over-20101231-19bol.html
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its really sad about john and elaine breaking up. 20 years is so long. but if they’re not happy, why prolong the miserY? have you listened to his latest cd? it’s full of pain and longing. hope the divorce takes them both to a brighter place. but meg ryan, seriously?hopefully that’s just fodder for the presses. afterall, they need someone to blame…..
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i really believe that john did dump elaine for meg. and i believe meg ruined the mellencamp family.
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