Meg Ryan, an American actress, is a devoted mother who became a mother of two in an unusual way. Ryan adopted her second child in a foreign nation, and the process was strange to say the least.
Meg Ryan was born Margaret Emily Hyra in Fairfield, Connecticut, to English teacher Susan Duggan and math instructor Harry Hyra.
Ryan graduated from Bethel High School in 1979 and moved to New York, where she studied in journalism at New York University.
She pursued acting as a way to supplement her income while pursuing her degree. In 1981, she made her big-screen debut in the film “Rich and Famous,” in which she played Candice Bergen’s daughter.
Ryan went on to play Betsy in the daytime television soap “As the World Turns” (1956), which he was a part of from 1982 to 1984.
In 1982, the 60-year-old got a role in the TV series “One of the Boys,” but it was quickly canceled. In 1984, she relocated to Hollywood and landed a role in a western series “”Off the beaten path” (1985).
Ryan was cast in Steven Spielberg’s “Innerspace” (1987), in which she co-starred with her future husband Dennis Quaid, and later in the remake of “D.O.A.” with him (1988).
During that time, they started dating and later married on Valentine’s Day in 1991. Ryan and Dennis were a well-liked Hollywood couple who ruled the 1990s as a team.
However, things did not work out, and they filed for divorce. Ryan was soon linked to fellow co-star Russell Crowe, and her marriage was said to have fallen apart as a result of her romance.
Ryan appears to be a happy single mother, as she has never remarried despite having an on-again, off-again romance with artist John Mellencamp.
Her good-girl reputation was badly damaged after she received a lot of hostility from the press. In October 2000, Ryan told W magazine:
“So, this is how it is to be the Scarlet Woman.” That’s what I’m going through right now!”
In the midst of the high-octane tabloid drama, the “The star of “Sleepless in Seattle” stated that her relationship with Crowe had nothing to do with her divorce:
“It was disbanded before the press turned it into a sport. After that, the public and the press tuned in. We broke up for reasons that have nothing to do with another individual.”
Ryan kept quiet about her breakup with Dennis for over a decade, and it wasn’t until 2008 that she began to speak openly about their relationship. InStyle quoted her as saying:
“Dennis had been unfaithful to me for a long time, and it hurt a lot. After I got divorced, I found out more about it.”
Dennis, 67, was not impressed with his ex-candor, wife’s telling The New York Daily News that he was disappointed in Ryan for bringing up the past in public:
“It amazes me that Meg continues to rehash and rewrite the story of our relationship in public. Also, I think it’s unfortunate that our son, Jack, has to be reminded publicly of the turbulence and anguish that any child goes through during a divorce.”
Before splitting up in 2001, the former couple was married for nine years. Despite their differences, the “Vegas” star regards their relationship as “the most successful relationship of my life.”
Meanwhile, Ryan expressed optimism about their split, stating, “When you realize you’ll never be able to truly manage an image or a story, you stop caring. Divorce is a difficult process. It is difficult to fall in love.”
In April 1992, the exes welcomed their son Jack Quaid, who later followed in their footsteps and became an actor. The 29-year-old was raised in Santa Monica, California, and works hard to stay out of their shadows while pursuing a career in show business.
Jack was motivated to carve out his own path as a teenager, and he studied acting at New York University before returning to Los Angeles to pursue his career:
“At one point, I considered altering my name, but then I realized, ‘A: People are going to know you anyhow, there’s no way around it.’ And B: I like the sound of my surname. ‘I’m going to keep it.’
Apart from considering a name change, Jack landed his first role in the “Hunger Games” franchise during his freshman year of college, a part he booked during spring break.
He said the part exceeded his expectations and compared the experience of filming in North Carolina to summer camp. “Logan’s Lucky” and “Vinyl” also featured Jack.
As an individual, he was regarded as kind, calm, humble, and grateful for any opportunity. Despite growing up in the spotlight, he had a regular childhood.
Despite the fact that his parents’ failing marriage became a public spectacle, the star of “The Boys” expressed gratitude to them for concealing the details of their split from him.
Ryan chose to try single motherhood again a few years after her failed marriages ended, despite the fact that she already had a grown son.
Daisy, Ryan’s eighteen-year-old daughter, was adopted as a baby girl in China in 2006. She revealed that the East Asian country’s adoption process uses a lottery system, and that her daughter was assigned to her at random.
The actress stated that she was confident that how she met her was not by chance and that it was meant to be. Ryan claimed that she was never on a quest and that all she wanted was a baby and to connect with someone, which she did when she met Daisy.
Initially, she intended to adopt an American kid, but further events led to the adoption of Daisy. The mother of two had intended to travel to India, but while on her way there, she received a photograph of her future daughter and fell in love with her.
However, because Ryan’s emotions were all over the place at the time, the adoption procedure got difficult for her, and she ended up stating that:
“I’ve never laughed or cried so hard in my life…
I was extremely apprehensive about everything.”
She said two years later that she found her child humorous and dubbed her an exciting kid after putting all the tension behind her. “I can’t understand how things were before she arrived. It’s a good life; it’s much better with her in it.”
Daisy was an easy child to raise, according to Ryan, who characterized her as brilliant and generous, as well as saying she and Jack got along beautifully and they all fit in well as a family unit.
She also made a comparison between finding Daisy and welcoming Jack into the world. Ryan discussed how her eldest child differs from her, Daisy, and his father, highlighting his uniqueness.
She went on to say that children are born as they are, regardless of how they are brought into the world. “Your biological children are just as much of a lottery as an adopted child halfway over the world. There is no difference in the affection you have for one other.”
Ryan appears to be a happy single mother, as she has never remarried despite having an on-again, off-again romance with artist John Mellencamp.
Following the singer-divorce songwriter’s from his third wife after eighteen years of marriage, the couple began dating in late 2010.
The couple was first seen together in public in New York City in 2011. A year later, they watched Dale Watson play live at the start of Farm Aid in Hershey, Pennsylvania, despite the fact that they rarely made public appearances together.
However, things went sour in 2014 when they parted after three years together. One of the motivations, according to a friend of Mellencamp’s at the time, was the intense media attention he experienced as a result of dating the Hollywood celebrity.
Another obstacle was the distance between Ryan and Mellencamp, who lived in Indiana. Mellencamp dated model Christy Brinkley in 2015, while she was still single, before they split up in 2016.
In July 2017, he and Ryan resumed their affair and were seen eating dessert in New York City. They were photographed packing up on the PDA and laughing a few months later.
Ryan announced on social media in 2018 that they were engaged to be married. Their children were ecstatic with the news and couldn’t stop talking about it in interviews. Dennis, too, was overjoyed for his ex-wife.
Fans were excited for their wedding day in August 2019 and wanted to know more details about the planning, but the couple kept it a secret.
Ryan startled everyone three months later when she canceled the engagement, claiming she had had enough, according to a source.
Despite the fact that their relationship ended abruptly, a close insider told Closer Weekly that the two still loved each other, but Ryan believed it was best if they lived their lives separately.