Russell Crowe & Meg Ryan
★ He’s a father-of-two now, but in 2000 Russell was very much on the market – and embarking on a scandalous affair with his Proof Of Life co-star Meg.
At that stage, America’s Sweetheart was married to actor Dennis Quaid, who promptly filed for divorce. But according to the actress, it was much more complicated than that. “Dennis was not faithful to me for a long time, and that was very painful,” she told US Today in 2008.
“I found out more about that once I was divorced... But Russell didn’t break up our marriage. He was definitely there at the end, but it wasn’t his fault. I was a mess – I hurt him, too, at the end.
“I couldn’t be in another long relationship, it wasn’t the time for that. So I got out.”
For his part, Russell, now 56, was said to be devastated by his split with Meg, 59.
“Meg is a beautiful and courageous woman,” he told the Herald Sun at the time.
“I grieve the loss of her companionship, but I’ve not lost the friendship.”
In stark contrast to Meg’s confession that she wasn’t ready for a serious relationship again so soon after her divorce, a source told People at the time, “Russell wanted to marry Meg and have kids with her.”
Later on, the actress admitted she found her time as Hollywood’s “Scarlet Woman” really interesting.
“As painful as it was, it was also incredibly liberating. I didn’t have to care about what people thought,” Meg revealed.