MEG RYAN & JOHN MELLENCAMP
TWO YEARS AFTER THEIR SPLIT, THE COUPLE GIVE LOVE ANOTHER TRY
New details of their recently rekindled romance!
As patrons of the Artcliff Diner on Martha’s Vineyard waited for tables, a couple who looked familiar chatted amiably over breakfast on a recent spring weekend. Though the famous pair, rocker John Mellencamp and Meg Ryan, tried to be circumspect at the popular Vineyard Haven, Mass., eatery located close to the actress’ country home, their happiness drew attention. “They looked like a couple and seemed very comfortable together,” a witness tells Closer.
Two years after they broke off their long-distance romance, John, 65, and Meg, 55, are back on. In addition to the restaurant sighting, the affectionate duo have been spotted at the theater in New York, holding hands as they exited the musical Dear Evan Hansen. John also referred to his “girlfriend” multiple times in a recent interview while promoting his new album, Sad Clowns & Hillbillies. “John never stopped loving Meg,” confides a friend. “When Meg gave him signals earlier in the spring she was open to trying again, he jumped at the chance.”
REKINDLING ROMANCE
That’s no surprise. The pair dated for three years before they split suddenly in August 2014, only to reunite a few months later. Meg finally walked away in January 2015, exasperated that John kept delaying his promised move from his native Indiana to New York to be with her. “Meg believed in her heart she did the right thing by ending her relationship with John,” explains the friend. “He just wasn’t giving her what she needed in terms of time and commitment.”
Following their breakup, John carried on a yearlong, high-profile relationship with model Christie Brinkley, which Meg did her best to ignore. “She was working, raising her daughter and trying to move on in her life,” says the friend. But the mom of Jack, 25, (from her 10-year marriage to Dennis Quaid) and Daisy, 13, didn’t go looking to replace John. “Even though they had some rocky times after their split, there’s no other man she would want by her side,” says the friend, who adds that John couldn’t forget Meg, either. “He never quit calling, even during his relationship with Christie.”
Now, it seems, John is ready to make good on his promise to Meg. The part-time painter is looking to buy “an art studio in Manhattan, near Meg’s home,” notes the friend. “He’s said he wants to marry her. The more time he spends with Meg, the more he has become convinced they can get there.”