Where Is Meg Ryan’s Engagement Ring From Dennis Quaid?

While Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid first crossed paths while making Innerspace in 1987, the two didn’t become romantically involved until a year later, when they reunited to film D.O.A. Quaid reportedly put his arm around Ryan in a bar one day after shooting and sparks flew. “It was like a thunderbolt,” the actor said, according to Entertainment Weekly. “Both of us felt, ‘This is it. We’re going to be together.’” While the details of The Parent Trap actor’s proposal to the filmmaker are unclear, the pair eventually made plans to tie the knot in 1990. However, the duo’s Montana nuptials were ultimately put on hold when Quaid revealed his drug addiction to Ryan and decided to go to rehab. “Meg was great,” the Texas native told the Sunday Mercury, a British tabloid, in 1999. “She stood up for me and stood behind me. I went into a [program.] We cancelled the wedding and I got my act together.”

After Quaid completed his program, the two tied the knot on Valentine’s Day in 1991 at the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles. The wedding was a spontaneous one, with the actor reportedly telling his fiancée “today’s the day” and asking the concierge to find an officiant, according to Entertainment Weekly. Ryan likely wore her engagement ring, a round- or cushion-cut diamond on a thick gold band, for the occasion. 

Just over a year after becoming husband and wife, the couple announced the arrival of their son, Jack Quaid, on April 24, 1992. In June 2000, after nine years of marriage, they revealed that they had ultimately decided to part ways. Rumors emerged that the You’ve Got Mail actress had cheated on her husband with actor Russell Crowe. Ryan later denied these allegations. “Russell didn’t break up the marriage,” she told InStyle in 2008. “He was definitely there at the end, but it wasn’t his fault.” In the same interview, the romantic-comedy star revealed that Quaid had cheated on her while they were together. “Dennis was not faithful to me for a long time, and that was very painful,” she said. “I found out more about that once I was divorced.”

In the years after their split, Quaid himself also spoke about the demise of their relationship, revealing that his wife’s stardom may have played a role in their decision to divorce. “When we met I was the big deal,” he told Megyn Kelly in 2018. “We’d go out on the streets of New York and it would be like, ‘Meg! Meg!’ And I have to admit it, I actually did feel like I disappeared. I didn’t think I was that small, but I was. It was a growth opportunity—I learned from that.”

What Happened to Meg Ryan’s Engagement Ring From Dennis Quaid? 

Given the pair’s rocky split, it’s likely that Ryan opted to sell or give away her engagement ring from Quaid rather than keep the diamond. However, in recent years, the duo has seemingly expressed care for one another, making it possible that she held onto the sentimental piece. “Meg is really such a great, sweet person, and really talented, and deserved all of her success,” Quaid said in a 2024 interview with Chris Wallace. “I don’t regret anything about my marriage to Meg. We got Jack Quaid out of it, who is really going on to maybe I think eclipse both of us.”

Ryan may also have elected to hold onto the ring in order to give it to the couple’s son, Jack, who is currently in a relationship with actress Claudia Doumit. However, regardless of what the Sleepless in Seattle star decided to do with the jewel, it’s clear she approved of it. After getting engaged to John Mellencamp in 2018, the actress debuted a sparkler with a similar design to her ring from Quaid.