I went into this Guardian interview with Dennis Quaid thinking I would just use some of his quotes about his young fiancee, but there’s other interesting/weird stuff in here. Yes, the headline is “Dennis Quaid, 65, is engaged to a 26 year old” but you know, he didn’t go out looking for that kind of age gap. Of course not. I’m sure he was dating plenty of 60-something women too and then his heart was just drawn to this lovely blonde 26-year-old. Of course. Dennis also talks about #MeToo, politics and whether he still dreams of winning an Oscar.
The attention he’s gotten from announcing his engagement: “That was really a laugh. I thought it was wonderful, actually.” But some of the attention isn’t very kind. Does it bother him that age gaps are considered such a taboo in today’s society? “No, it really doesn’t bother us. Everyone comes from the perspective of their own life and so I can’t comment on the way they feel; I can’t even get angry. I didn’t go out looking for an age gap or someone really younger than me. I met her at a business event and then the relationship developed. You have no control over who you fall in love with. I don’t fall in love easy. But I can’t let what a few people think control all that. I’ve been married three times and this is the final one, I know it is. I feel like I have a real partner in life.”
Whether he’s set a wedding date: “I think you have to get married within a year of asking.”
He feels more comfortable in his career: “I’m not trying to get anywhere. I’m not trying to win an Oscar. I’m not trying to get a bigger career. I’m not trying to make it.”
Losing the Oscar when he was nominated for Far From Heaven: “I felt embarrassed and a little humiliated. But then I thought, it’s silly putting my self-worth in any of this; this is not why I started doing it. The only real joy I get out of acting is when I’m on set. All the rest of it is a circus. I think it started to change from there.”
He’s turned down huge roles: “Oh yeah, of course. I turned down Tom Hanks’ career! I turned down League of Their Own. Sleepless in Seattle was mine. And yet, all of a sudden, it wasn’t. I turned it down because of the director on it at the time. I said: ‘You should get Nora Ephron.’ But because I turned it down, they were free to do anything they wanted, so I wound up out of it [even though Ephron did direct] and my wife at the time [Ryan] was in it!”
He hasn’t decided how he’s voting: “I’ve voted both sides all my life according to where the pendulum is,” he says. Which way is it swinging next? “I really don’t know. I’m just so fed up with it.” What will he do in the next election? “I don’t know. I’ll go in the voting booth and have to make a decision. I vote every time.”
On Harvey Weinstein & MeToo: “I don’t think it was about women with Harvey. It was about men and women; it was a power thing. I think he was the guy in school that could never get the girl and so he extracted revenge over four decades and there’s a price to be paid. It’s kind of pathetic that we’ve gotten to this point. It used to be called common courtesy, the way you were supposed to behave, and it takes a little zing out of the relationship between men and women. But it’s really good that this [the #MeToo movement] happened because the casting couch was a very real thing and I certainly wouldn’t want my daughter to put up with that bullsh-t. It’s a reintroduction to common courtesy; the way that we should treat everybody in life.”
I’m not sure if Quaid said this with disgust or not: “I think he was the guy in school that could never get the girl and so he extracted revenge over four decades and there’s a price to be paid.” I don’t agree with it, either. It wasn’t about “a guy didn’t get dates when he was 16, therefore he raped, abused and harassed dozens of women for decades.” It’s not revenge, it’s pathology. And… it’s NOT the casting couch, which implies a mutually beneficial and transactional exchange. This was Harvey Weinstein raping and assaulting women.
As for what Quaid said about his engagement… I’m sure he is pleased with the attention. I’m also sure he’s going to try to rush her to the altar. Whew. But yeah, of course “You have no control over who you fall in love with” if you only date 20-something women, you’re going to fall for a 20-something woman. Oh and he’s totally going to f–king vote for Trump. If you can’t say AT THIS POINT that you are definitely not going to vote for Trump, you’re a Trump voter.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
“I’ve been married three times and this is the final one, I know it is.”
Well, he may be right.
LOL
yeah, way to jinx yourself. I’ll be surprised if it lasts more than a couple of years.
and he looks SO F*CKING STUPID standing next to her.
I believe it. I’m just not convinced it will be his new wife’s last marriage.
Well…I mean…at least she LOOKS age appropriate.
Sorry guys. Going through a rough time and being bitchy is all I have getting me through it 😐
Aw, good luck. Max out on your bitchiness if it helps.
Aww thanks. I really appreciate that. 🙂
And she in no way looks his age…just older than 26. But she’s lovely and I guess good for them.
“I turned down Tom Hanks’ career!”
Sure, Jan.
Yeah I didn’t quite believe that one myself either.
Also, if he’s going to “both sides” politics right now, I’m going to scream.
He sees it all within his privilege: it’s Weinstein’s HS revenge, it’s taken the “excitement” out of dating, it’s about lording power over MEN, too!! And he met her in business, and a boy (elderly man) just can’t choose, ‘cause the heart wants what the heart wants.
30 years later, he’s such a huge disappointment for someone like me. I don’t know which Democrat I’m voting for, but I’m not voting for Trump. This ass…
My goodness. He was SO adorably cute in The Parent Trap. It’s bad plastic surgery, not aging . . .
yeah, he needs to find out who Tom Cruise uses. Tom may be a psycho-cult leader, but he looks good.
When I saw his first car insurance commercial, I did a double-take. he looked TERRIBLE, pulled so tight, with that horribly-dyed hair color that is clearly fake.
He probably used who Meg was using. Hers was bad too. I don’t know why men dye their hair. Most men can get away with the gray hair and still look good. Doing your hair all the time is a pain in the a*(*( With women you have to be either Jamie Lee Curtis or Helen Mirren to look good with gray hair and age, and Mirren really is dyeing it a bit gray blonde.
Speaking of The Parent Trap, that movie had a joke in it that gold-digging Meredith, who was 26 years old at the time, was too young for Quaid’s character. THAT WAS 21 YEARS AGO.
I guess people get what they deserve. She will get $ in exchange for having to pretend she is sexually attracted to this grandfather-figure. He will get arm candy to show off in public, and also a wife who will be wishing every day that he dies soon.
I just can’t even imagine, haha. I married my highschool sweetheart. And while most of the time I think that the sun rises and sets with this wonderful person… there’s always going to be those days where you start to wonder “are you being this way on purpose?” because your significant other just drives you nuts in a way that other people have never managed before.
So I can’t imagine having to go through all the work of ‘training’ (I kid) a new husband, let alone be working on spouse number 4.
But I REALLY can’t imagine having to deal with all of that when the new partner is literally young enough to be a child from the first or even second marriage!
ETA: I just googled his son with Meg ( Jack ). He’s two years younger than I am. And he’s a VERY handsome guy. No idea on what kind of person he is, but damn, he’s a cutie.
Jack is in the Amazon Prime show The Boys. It was pretty good if you’re into flipping the superhero script. He’s got his dad’s smile but a goofier, everyman kind of look. Funnily enough, he’s got a Tom Hanks kind of vibe.
Yes, agree, actually really enjoyed him in The Boys!
I’ll have to look into this. He definitely has a slightly goofier, average guy kind of way about him, but still really handsome haha. And that sounds like something I’d enjoy.
The Boys is great stuff. Same dude responsible for Supernatural, if that means anything.
He could play a young Rainn Wilson crossed with like… A tom hanks type of look and something else in there. It’s on the tip of my tongue!
Yes! i saw him in a Hulu movie and he really reminded me of Rainn Wilson.
Maybe a little Joshua Jackson too?
I saw him on a late night interview. He came across really well. Self deprecating, humble.
How do you extract revenge? And why would you do that yourself? Lol. Maybe those rotten apples he’s smuggling in his cheeks are leaking if he’s equating casting couches with rape. Sounds like sexual harassment is such a pain for so many men to have to even think about. Those poor things.
She looks like his daughter in that first picture.
Yeah, he’s voting trump, you’re right.
Wow , he has everything really figured out.
“I think you have to get married within a year of asking.”
Don’t make the geriatric joke Tiffany, don’t make the geriatric joke Tiffany, don’t make the geriatric joke Tiffany.
Also, they say you get wiser in years. What happened there Dennis?
He’s gross. Hope she takes ALL his money.
The will be my last marriage..yeah, because you are OLD!
Face it fella, you could “wake up dead” anytime from here on out.
I am 58, and these 50+ men just make me tired.
Get a damn clue! If his 61 y/o butt was working on a factory floor, living from one paycheck to another, he’d be alone.
It is just as easy to love a rich man as a poor man, they used to say it as a joke.
But IRL, these “soul mates/love match/May-Dec” pairs…if the man isn’t wealthy+celeb…why do they think they women 20-40 years younger are interested? Fools! No fool like an old fool.
Doesn’t know who he’s going to vote for? Ok, Boomer.
I know plenty of Boomer-aged men who didn’t and would never vote for Trump, but yeah, if he can’t say at this point and he’s voted “both sides,” he probably voted for Trump AND he’s an idiot. A very rich idiot.
Do you know what the phrase Ok, Boomer means? It’s specifically for conservative Baby Boomers who voted Trump. The ones who rail against the younger generations while voting for people who systematically are destroying our democracy. It’s not a commentary on all baby boomers. As a friend of mine says, “If it doesn’t apply, let it fly”.
Last time I checked it was a secret ballot in this country. You don’t HAVE to tell anyone who you intend to vote for. Or who aren’t going to vote for. Or who you’ve voted for in the past. I never tell anyone who I vote for. It’s no one’s damn business but mine. FYI I’m a registered Democrat but that doesn’t mean I always vote for the party’s candidate. I prefer to look at a politician’s record, how they stand on issues that I feel are important, and make my choice from there. It’s called informed voting. A very old school way to do it. Because the presidency especially should not be a popularity contest.
Welp. It’s clear from the responses to my comment that a lot of folks dont know what the phrase “Ok,Boomer” actually means.
@ Valiantly Varnished – I actually really appreciated your comment, because it’s the first good explanation of the term I’ve heard.
I think, though, that a lot of people aren’t using the term the same way you are? Because I’ve seen it thrown around in a way that just seems like blatant ageism regardless of the individual boomer’s politics, which is awful. An (older) acquaintance of mine said something kind of heartbreaking on Twitter the other day about how sad the phrase makes him, because he’s a boomer and his perception was that the phrase just dismisses the boomer generation out of hand, when the boomers he knew fought like hell to make the world a better place and died of AIDS by the thousands. More than one person responded to his tweet with “ok boomer” and I found it honestly kind of sickening.
Dear Annabel:
I like your comment a lot. Much older cohorts were at least afforded more respectful terms such as , “The Greatest Generation” or the “Silent Generation,” but the labelers grew lazier calling a multi-decade group “Boomers.” But at least they were afforded with a name and not a letter “X” or “Y.”
And now it seems the last few groups are accused of not measuring up. Just another way to pit us against each other and divide us, just as pink- or blue- or white-collar terms were used to separate workers. Those cutesy terms have now been cooly streamlined into calling us either producers or takers.
Your acquaintance and his friends should feel very proud and hold their heads up high for what they did.
Question asked to his fiance “what drew you to millionaire Quaid”?!
Exactly!
Oh but, “you have no control over who you fall in love with”… LOL
Way to be a cliche. And after they get married she’ll pop out a few kids and by the time those kids are in high school, if they’re lucky, he’ll be at their graduation in a wheelchair.
My long-term boyfriend is 18 years older than me. Most people are surprised to hear that – we look like we’re in the same age range. I’m an old soul, he’s young at heart. In fact he keeps ME young! So I try not to be judgemental about big age differences. He’s right, we can’t control who we fall in love with… but it just seems to fit the Hollywood trope, doesn’t it?
I think 18 yrs is fine. 40, no.
Dennis Quaid.
Lord. You know, I’m sure he doesn’t “have any control” over who he falls in love with, but I find it ironic that he’s dragging on Harvey Weinstein while boning someone who’s young enough to be his granddaughter. Talk about a “power dynamic.” It just makes me wonder what her father thinks about the fact that, if they even stay together (she will be wife #4, btw) that she’ll be too busy wiping his ass to have a life of her own. I know my dad would literally isht himself if I hooked up with someone old enough to be a charter member of AARP. Charlie Chaplin is somewhere raising a toast to Quaid’s new child bride.
On the flip side, how many 65-year-old women are boning 26-year-olds? Right. Exactly.
“I think you have to get married within a year of asking,” is shade toward Meg and John, right?
They don’t date age appropriate women because they have money. If he was a janitor or a car salesman, would this 26 year old date him? The problem is average men see this happening and want to do it too and us women pushing 40 (38) have a hard time out there.
Ew ew ew. Also, he can go F#$! himself. His new fiance may be a gold digger but I can’t help but side-eye a much older man who has more wealth and status than his child-bride. There’s a power imbalance there for sure. Also, anyone who’s still undecided as to who they will vote for is part of the problem. He’s an established, rich, white man. He benefits from Trump’s policies and doesn’t care who is harmed by them so long as he gets his piece of the pie. Lastly, trying to write off Harvey Weinstein’s assaults as “high school revenge”? Yeah, go F%$! yourself you foolish old man.
I’ve seen him around Austin before and he is SUCH a pathetic loser. He dresses like a frat boy and wears a sidewards baseball cap. I’ve even seen him in a Hollister shirt my brother wore as a senior in high school. And I’ve yet to see him sober.
A SIDEWAYS baseball cap? Seriously? Who does that, besides 13-year-olds? That’s pathetic.
Most of us aren’t crazy about aging. It’s generally not fun, but when you try to act like you’re still in your 20s, you’re just embarrassing yourself.
I’m 46 – it is what it is. Pretending won’t change it.
I’m picturing when Joey on Friends wanted to audition to play a 19 year old…
Roflmao
You have no control over who you fall in love with? Ummm I think you do when you’re 60 and shopping around for a 20-something year old girlfriend. Give me a break. Gross.
Lets get one thing straight Dennis–you could never be Tom Hanks.
I think he’s probably voting Trump too, but he’s persuadable if he was in a state like Pennsylvania, Michigan or Wisconsin I’d say don’t give up on him yet. Since he’s California who cares. Also, I don’t really get the portion of people albeit small who are conflicted with Trump. I get a feeling these people waffle on whether they want cheese on their burger too.
I don’t wholeheartedly agree with his Weinstein analogy, but I do think it may have a bit of merit. Just cause it seems Weinstein didn’t always rape and attack women. He started with garden valley sexual harassment. Still bad, but not rape. In a social context I do wonder if we catch some of these guys at the smaller crimes do we prevent them from the larger ones. A sexual harassment charge isn’t going to have the same punishment as a rape, and rightly so. The perpetrator will still be able to work and go on to either learn his lesson or commit more crimes. In Weinstein’s case it did seem to escalate as time and his power grew. It makes sense it could have started when he was rejected early and he resented both the women and men. Again, with society if we get it at that point would it help.
Also, I don’t agree completely with the casting couch scenario, although I see your point. I don’t think the casting couch implies a mutually beneficial transactional exchange. Not anymore at least, as I think most people realize the majority of women felt they had no choice in that scenario. It’s just a different kind of force. I am again a bit of a waffler here as I do know there are women who chose the casting couch to get ahead too, and that makes it a bit different to.
Oh my have I turned into a waffler. Nope, I’m sure Trump’s still an a-hole and Weinstein should be in jail and sooner than later.
He’ll get what he deserves – a mere half of everything he owns when she leaves.
If you can fall in love as easily with a rich man as a poor man and with a twenty-something as well as a fifty-something, why did she fall for the rich man and he for the twenty-something? I call bullshit on that bullshit.
Sure, you can’t control who you fall in love with. You can absolutely control whether or not you date or choose to pursue a relationship with them, however. Important distinction, one that oddly never comes up with these older partners.
Yes, you do have control. Start with not dating your Granddaughter.
OK Boomer. Couldn’t stop myself i will show myself out..
I have no problem controlling not falling in love with old men.
If he were not rich and famous she would never have given him a first glance.
Jack Quaid in Plus One was great 👍
She looks older than 26. She looks like a jacked-up 35.