Why my marriage to Richard Gere failed, by Cindy Crawford
They divorced in 1995 after just four years of marriage.
And Cindy Crawford admits that it was the large age gap – she was 25, he was 42 – that led to the demise of her marriage to Richard Gere.
‘I just think your twenties, for women, is such a time when you’re starting to come into your own and feel your own power and connect to your inner strength,’ said the 47-year-old candidly during a new episode of Oprah’s Master Class.
‘And it’s hard to do that, it’s hard to change in a relationship, because what one person might have signed up for, all of a sudden, you’re not that anymore,’ said the supermodel about her relationship to the Pretty Woman actor during the hour-long broadcast on Sunday on the OWN channel.
The couple met when she was only 21, and the relationship suffered as she came into her own in the following years.
‘I think I was more willing at 22 to be, like, “Okay, I’ll follow,” but then you start going, “Well, I don’t want to just follow, I want to lead sometimes and I want to walk side by side sometimes,”‘ said the brunette beauty.
Cindy met the handsome actor during a barbecue at the famed photographer Herb Ritts’ house in 1987.
‘There were a lot of really cool people there. I was like, “Wow! Jack Nicholson!”‘ said the mother of two. ‘It was still all new to me.’
She and the Officer And A Gentleman actor wasted no time in getting serious.
‘We pretty much started dating right away,’ she said. ‘When I was with him, that’s when I was becoming well-known as well.’
The celebrity couple got hitched four years later, but the marriage didn’t last long, and the childless pair divorced in 1995.
Guided her: Cindy said during the interview that she watched how Richard dealt graciously with fans, which helped inform how she dealt with fame
But Cindy, who has been happily married to Rande Gerber since 1999, credits Richard in teaching her how to handle the perils of fame.
‘When I would see how he was with fans when they approached him, a lot of the times it wouldn’t be a good moment to sign an autograph, shake a hand or sign a picture,’ she said.
‘But I got to look to him to see how he created boundaries for himself that felt good,’ she explained.
But she admits that her down-to-earth nature made putting in those boundaries difficult.
‘Being a nice girl from the Midwest, my inclination is always to give and say yes because I want people to like me,’ she said. ‘But then I saw Richard do it in a way that was like, “You know what? Sorry, I’m not doing that. But I see you.”‘
On good terms: The model calls her marriage to the actor as a ‘a great chapter’ in her life, and calls her ex husband a super smart guy’
Her former husband – who married Carey Lowell in 2002 – taught Cindy that as long as she made a connection with the person or fan, however brief, it was enough, she said.
‘He felt it was really just about looking someone in the eyes and making sure that they felt seen,’ said the star.
There appears to be no animosity between the stars, as Cindy stressed her admiration for the American Gigolo star during the interview
‘Richard’s a super smart guy, and he’s interesting, and he’s interested, and I learned a lot about the world,’ she said. ‘It was a great chapter in my life.’
Happily remarried: Cindy tied the knot for a second time in 1999 with businessman Rande Gerber, pictured together on the weekend. The pair have two children – Presley, 13, and Kaia, 11
Better luck the second time around: Richard married model Carey Lowell in 2002. The pair have one son, Homer, 12
