At the age of 68, movie star Dennis Quaid is someone who has certainly had his share of ups and downs. During the 1980s, Dennis poised to become one of the biggest move stars in the world. However, a crippling cocaine addiction hurt his career. Still, the actor has managed to work consistently in Hollywood since his debut, and has even had a few major commercial successes, including The Parent Trap and The Day After Tomorrow. At the height of the actor’s cocaine addiction, he married to fellow film star Meg Ryan. Meg was his second wife, and now he’s on to his fourth.
While Dennis is sick after all these years of fielding questions about his cocaine addiction, he thinks it’s better than talking about the 39-year age gap between himself and his new wife! According to Dennis, while he was in the deepest throes of his addiction, he had a vision that altered his perception and allowed him to break free. Join Facts Verse as we explore how Dennis Quaid saw himself dead during his crippling cocaine addiction.
Cocaine Nearly Destroyed Dennis Quaid’s Life
Today, movie star Dennis Quaid is 68 years old. The actor has certainly through a lot in his life, including a very public divorce that caused by his rampant cocaine addiction. Dennis is still asked about his cocaine addiction often, even though he claims to have free from the spell of the drug for around two decades. At the time that Dennis in the deepest throes of his addiction, he married to fellow film star Meg Ryan. The two married in 1991. At the time when the two began dating, Meg wasn’t aware that Dennis had a serious cocaine problem.
According to Dennis Quaid, his cocaine problem started in the 1980s. Back then, cocaine use seems to have been the norm amongst Hollywood movie stars. However, there were certainly some stars that seemed to properly manage their use of the drug better than others. It’s likely that the majority of film stars back in those days were using cocaine at least recreationally, though Dennis was one of the stars that took his use of the drug way too far. According to Dennis, cocaine use so ubiquitous around Hollywood back in those days that funds to purchase the drug often included in film budgets. As a result, Dennis found himself doing cocaine essentially every day by the end of the decade.
Dennis Quaid claims that his cocaine use often kept him up at all hours of the night. Some nights, he’d look at the clock after a binge and realize that he had to be to work in an hour. At those moments, Dennis says that he would look up to the sky and pray to God to take the drug away from him. However, by the afternoon of the next day, Dennis would always be in serious need of a pick-me-up. Thus, the vicious cycle of cocaine abuse had full hold over the man’s soul!
A Vision Showed Dennis the Light
It was in 1990, while engaged to actress Meg Ryan, that Dennis Quaid had the vision that would first begin to pull the star away from his cocaine use. According to the actor, he had a vision where he saw himself dead from his substance abuse. This vision showed the actor the light, and he subsequently went to his fiancée and admitted to her the truth. Meg was receptive to Dennis asking for help. The two went through with the marriage, and Dennis got professional help for his cocaine addiction. Following this period, it seemed as if the actor was doing okay! Him and Meg Ryan had a kid over the course of the 1990s, and many believed that Dennis’ days of cocaine use were behind him.
Sadly, over the course of his decade-long marriage to Meg Ryan, Dennis Quaid fell back under the spell of cocaine use. He started doing cocaine again towards the back half of the decade, and he also claims that he started drinking in an attempt to both hide and abate the cocaine use. Previously, Dennis claims that he had never liked alcohol. However, he began using it after relapsing into cocaine as a way to balance out the cocaine highs. Dennis thought that using alcohol would make the cocaine use not as bad, but he ended up being wrong. Dennis’ relapse into substance abuse eventually caused his 2001 divorce from Meg Ryan.
Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid’s divorce was so tumultuous that then-president of the United States Bill Clinton allegedly called the actor up to see if he was doing okay. Despite this, Dennis Quaid eventually got over his second wife, and he’s two wives since! If you’re enjoying this video so far, be sure to hit the like button to show your support! Also, subscribe to the channel if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
Losing Meg Ryan Was Dennis’ Second Wake-Up Call
According to Dennis Quaid, losing second wife Meg Ryan was a real wake-up call that finally tore him away from the demons of substance abuse once and for all. Finally, Dennis was free from his cocaine use. Despite the fact that it was Meg who inspired him to quit for good; the two have remained separated, and Dennis has gone on to marry two other women since the divorce. In 2004, Dennis Quaid married a real-estate agent by the name of Kimberly Buffington. Kimberly Buffington thus became Kimberly Quaid, and the two had a pair of twins together.
Dennis and Kimberly remained married until 2018; meaning that the two were together for longer than Dennis and Meg had been! Prior to being married to Meg Ryan, Dennis married to actress P.J. Soles from 1978 to 1983. P.J. is best known for her roles in the 1970s horror films Carrie and Halloween.
Dennis New Wife is 39 Years His Junior
Following Dennis Quaid’s divorce from Kimberly Buffington in 2018, the star has remarried again. However, Dennis’ fourth wife is a good deal younger than any of his previous wives. In fact, Dennis is 39 years older than his new wife. And he’s sick of fielding questions from reporters about the age gap! According to Dennis, he’d rather asked about his cocaine use again than talk about the age gap. Dennis’ new wife is 29-year-old Laura Savoie. After divorcing from Kimberly and prior to marrying Laura; Dennis romantically involved with a model by the name of Santa Auzina, who is now 35. Dennis apparently thought that Santa was too old, so he left her for Laura Savoie!
Laura Savoie is around the same age as Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan’s son. That son is Jack Quaid; and it’s uncertain how he and his mother feel about Dennis married to his much younger woman. According to Dennis, he had no intention of seeking out a much younger love interest, it simply happened. The two eventually met at a business event and Dennis immediately found himself taken over not only by Laura’s look; but also by her personality. The two met in 2019, and it was only several months after their initial meeting that Dennis popped the question. Apparently, it didn’t take Laura very long to say yes. The two had envisioned a fancy wedding in Hawaii, but ended up marrying in Santa Barbara. They had an incredibly private ceremony as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
One of the film roles that Dennis Quaid is best known for is that of the father in Disney’s 1998 remake of The Parent Trap. In that film, Dennis’ character is engaged to a much younger woman. The woman that Dennis’ character engaged at 26, while Dennis himself at 44. This age cap treated as infinitely hilarious comedic fodder in the film. Though that 18-year age gap is nothing compared to the 39-year age gap between Dennis and Laura. Fans were quick to point out the coincidence of Dennis marrying a much younger woman when The Parent Trap is one of his most popular films. The actor apparently took the comments with good humor; and even kicked around the idea of marrying Laura at a vineyard that had been used as a filming location on the movie. However, this didn’t end up happening.
Laura Savoie Is More Than Meets the Eye!
Laura is a PhD student, so it’s not surprising that Dennis Quaid thinks highly of his new wife’s personality. Although Laura is nearly four decades younger than the Hollywood film star; it seems based on her education that she is likely the smarter of the two. When Dennis was Laura’s age, he was staying up all night doing cocaine! Another thing that Dennis claims to appreciate a good deal about Laura is her faith in God. After the religious experience that Dennis had during his cocaine use, it seems he’s pretty faithful!
Dennis Quaid Could’ve Been a Bigger Star
Dennis Quaid is certainly a notable film star, but he arguably could’ve been a much bigger star if it wasn’t for his cocaine use. The actor’s biggest hits include the aforementioned The Parent Trap, as well as films like The Day After Tomorrow and The Rookie. While these movies were all successes; they’re nothing compared to some of the films in which Dennis was offered roles early on in his career but had to drop out of as a result of his substance abuse. According to Dennis, he very nearly could’ve had Tom Hanks’ career.
Dennis was meant to star in the movie Big; but ended up dropping out. He subsequently had to drop out League of Their Own and Sleepless in Seattle after being offered the roles in those features that would end up going to Tom. Dennis Quaid is certainly no Tom Hanks, but he still gets work! Recently, the actor could be seen on the Netflix series Merry Happy Whatever, which was Christmas-oriented.
Although Dennis Quaid battled with cocaine use for many years, he claims to have had a vision that helped him break away from the drug. Now it’s time to hear from you: did you know that Dennis Quaid almost had Tom Hanks’ role in Big, but that he had to give it up because of cocaine use? As always, like this video to show your support, and subscribe and hit the notification bell if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
