It was more than three decades ago that
Hollywood's hottest couple, Richard Gere and Cindy Crawford, decided to take their blossoming
romance to the next level. Yes, The Pretty Woman actor eventually gave in after the ultimatum and
decided to marry his girlfriend. Crawford and Gere spontaneously wed in Las Vegas, exchanging
aluminum foil rings at the altar. However, it wasn't as romantic as one would imagine.
It all started as a romantic fairy tale. The couple met at the backyard BBQ of beloved fashion
and portrait photographer Herb Ritts. Awestruck by the celebrity crowd, Crawford was 22 at the
time, with her legendary career only looming on the horizon. But it was 39-year-old Gere who
attracted her attention. When the chemistry worked, they were in big trouble!
"We talked, then we had a date, then we had another date," Crawford
said about their attraction.At first, Gere was uncertain about marrying Crawford.
He thought it was too suburban, and he had huge concerns about making the wrong decision.
But Crawford finally broke Gere's resolution. She simply gave him the ultimatum. She
reportedly informed the famous actor of her desire to move on if they weren't moving
to the next level. It definitely wasn't time to get cold feet for Gere!He confessed, "I was
a holdout at age 42, and this woman who I was crazy about and loved very much said, 'I can't
wait. I gotta move on if it ain't happening.'
The two chose to exchange vows at an iconic Sin
City chapel, The Church of the West. It's the same place where Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton
tied the knot. But, perhaps the most unusual moment of the small ceremony was when the couple
exchanged their rings. Rather than opting for an extravagant jewelry brand, the duo fashioned rings
out of aluminum foil and wore them instead of something more extravagant."I wore John Galliano
off the rack," Crawford explained. "I couldn't shop for wedding dresses because we wanted to keep
the wedding a secret. So I told a stylist friend we were going to a white party on the beach," she
reflected on the preparation for the ceremony. Now it was a truly iconic model wedding.
While the lovebirds were simply happy to tie the knot, it seems that the whirlwind and
low-key nature of their ceremony wasn't that perfect. Crawford didn't wear a white, and
Gere walked down the aisle in a navy suit from Armani. "It wasn’t the wedding I dreamed
of. It was so last minute," she once described the ceremony. As the couple was trying to make
their love life work, another milestone was on Cindy's mind. In 1993, the model shared that
she was very excited to expand a family. "I feel that's the thing in my life I'm going to
be best at, being a mother," she said, even though Gere was a little resistant to the idea.
Sadly, their “happily ever after” was not meant to last, and just four years after their whirlwind
wedding in Vegas, the couple announced that they parted ways.There were a lot of factors at
play in Crawford and Gere’s 1995 divorce. Being as famous as they both were at the time,
scandalous rumors about their relationship were never far behind. Though both parties denied
the claims, tabloids were relentless in their assertions that both Gere and Crawford were gay,
and that their marriage was a publicity stunt. She even joked she found the rumors “amusing”.
Years later, she revealed the major reason their marriage couldn’t stand a chance. Believe it or
not, the couple just didn’t spend enough time together. Crawford opened up, “We’re equally
responsible for that. We thought it would be okay if we just flew in from Paris to L.A. to
get together for a night to see each other. It wasn’t”. She believed that being in her twenties
means constant changes. It’s exactly the time when you come into your own and feel your own
power and connect to your inner strength. That’s why it’s so hard to save relationships
during that complicated life period.
Looking back, Crawford thinks she and
Gere should’ve worked on establishing a friendship. “I think part of the problem
in our relationship was that we were a lot of other things, but I don’t know if we were
ever friends — like peers, because I was young, and he was Richard Gere," she explained.
As she started to mature and become a new version of herself over the years, it was hard
to change the nature of their relationship. They couldn’t find the common language to nurture
their affection anymore. "There wasn't a good power balance there and that was my fault because
I gave all my power away to him," Crawford said.
Reflecting on her marriage, Crawford admitted
that she was quite young when their marriage took place, but she doubted if she ever had a
bond with the famous actor. She noted that Gere was like a stranger, and they barely had anything
in common. "I was young," said Crawford, adding that she was 26 when they married (Gere was 42 at
the time). "I didn't think I was young, though, but I was young. I was with Richard for like six
years, but I was only married for two years."
Decades after the marriage ended, both stars
have pursued different interests and faced different fates. But Crawford was lucky enough to
have a wedding she was dreaming of for so long. Crawford and her current husband, Rande Gerber,
were both in other relationships when they met at her agent's wedding. She was actually happy
both she and Gerber were involved with others when they met. They were able to be themselves
without playing any games. She explained, "Rande also had a girlfriend at the time,
so he wasn't looking to meet anyone either, and that's the best time to meet someone
because that's when you're truly yourselves."
Whatever ups and downs Cindy Crawford and
Rande Gerber experienced over the years, the most important thing is that they encountered
and conquered them together. The couple has been married for more than 20 years, which is an
impressive feat to reach, especially when both parties still appear deeply in love. Gere
was married twice since his failed marriage with Crawford, while the actress enjoyed a fairy tale
union with her second husband. The famous actor is actually now married to a Spanish activist, and
the couple welcomed two children in recent years. So for the first time in a while, Richard Gere
can say that he is with a person he truly loves.
Crawford once said that the exact thing
that was missing from her marriage to Gere – friendship – kept her and Gerber
together for so long."I think why Rande and I really work is that we were friends first,"
she shared. "I never pretended to like baseball or meditation – or whatever the version is." With
Gerber, Crawford felt like she wasn't trying to impress someone. The world-famous model gave
up full-time modeling in 2000, though she still appears in the occasional editorial or runway
show. Crawford shifted her focus, launching a furniture collection, authoring an autobiography,
and doubling down on her charity work.
We couldn’t be happier that she finally found her
path. But we’ve been wondering what do you think about the marriage between Crawford and Gere?
Let us know, and don’t forget to subscribe!
