She disappeared from Hollywood to focus on her family after scandalized romance with Russel Crowe

Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks collaborated on another romantic comedy hit, Sleepless in Seattle, in 1993. The adorable “girl next door” captured the attention of the moviegoers once more, and everyone appreciated her performance.

“I think her ‘cuteness’ sometimes blinds people to how genuinely gifted she is as a comic actress,” the famous director of Nora Ephron told Vanity Fair in 1995.

Tom Hanks also revealed things about his co-star, claiming that Meg Ryan could be pretty far from her characters in Nora Ephron’s movies. Even though critics dubbed her “the current soul of the romantic comedy,” Meg had other sides as well.

“Meg is not perky, I always got the distinct impression that this woman is not to be messed around with,” the well-known actor said in 1995.

It was far from obvious that she would land the role as Annie Reed in Sleepless in Seattle. In fact, she was the sixth choice and both Julia Roberts, Kim Basinger, and Michelle Pfeiffer were offered the role but said no.

Meg Ryan declined a part in the acclaimed film The Silence of the Lambs after the popularity of Sleepless in Seattle. Instead, she concentrated on romantic comedies, which were what made her successful.

However, the actress decided in 1996 that she needed a new part to push her. Meg Ryan played a much darker character alongside Denzel Washington and Matt Damon in the war thriller Courage Under Fire.

When the movie debuted in 1996 and became a box office hit, Ryan appeared to have little chance of failing. 1998, one of her strongest years professionally, saw the continuation of her success story. Everything was set up for another movie office blockbuster when she co-starred with Nicolas Cage in the romantic comedy City of Angels.

She reteamed with Tom Hanks for You’ve Got Mail the same year, and it turned out to be another career-defining performance. The story of the movie is around two adversaries who fall in love after they begin emailing one another without realizing who the other is. The movie is set in an era when emails and the internet were just starting to become a part of our daily lives.

Meg received her third Golden Globe Award nomination for the movie and the New York Times wrote:

“Ms. Ryan plays her role blithely and credibly this time, with an air of freshness, a minimum of cute fidgeting, and a lot of fond chemistry with Mr. Hanks.”

Talk about a perfect way to close out a golden decade for the actress!

But if the 1990s were a decade of success for the actress, the 2000s proved to be considerably harder. The all-American good girl had a rough start to the new decade with a few failures and a lot of stress in her personal life.

Rumors of a relationship started to spread when she appeared in Proof of Life alongside Russell Crowe. In 2000, Ryan and her husband jointly announced their separation.

Ryan was attacked and scandalized by the press for having an affair with Russel Crowe while she was married during this trying time in her personal life. Naturally, the affair made headlines because her actions didn’t line up with how the public perceived their favorite girl-next-door.

Many people were unaware that Ryan’s marriage to Dennis Quaid was in ruins when she started seeing Russell Crowe.

Although it was far from ideal, their marriage was frequently portrayed as a Hollywood fairytale of love.

“It was a great story. But what wasn’t in the story was the reality of my marriage for nine years. Dennis was not faithful to me for a long time, and that was very painful. I found out more about that once I was divorced,” Meg Ryan explained in 2008.

According to Meg Ryan, dating her Proof of Life co-star had nothing to with her divorce to Dennis Quaid.

“I think he took a big hit, but Russell didn’t break up the marriage. He was definitely there at the end, but it wasn’t his fault,” Ryan explained and continued:

“The public and the press tuned in way after. The reasons we broke up have nothing to do with another person,” she mentioned.

For obvious reasons, her ex-husband wasn’t pleased with Ryan’s comments years after their high-profile divorce.

“It was eight years ago, and I find it unbelievable that Meg continues publicly to rehash and rewrite the story of our relationship,” he remarked.

While Meg Ryan called their relationship a “very unhealthy marriage,” Dennis Quaid has more fond memories of their union.

“Sure, I still love her,” Quaid explained. “I’m very fond of her, and we have a lot of fun. We spent 13 good years together. We had a kid together, and we shared so much: she made my life.”

Ryan and Quaid would always share a unique link with their son even if they parted ways.

When their son, Jack Quaid, was born in 1992, he continued in his parents’ footsteps. The actor is currently 29 years old. Jack made his acting debut in the film The Hunger Games, and since then, he has starred in other TV shows and motion pictures.