Known for heartland hits about Jack and Diane and little pink houses, John (sometimes Cougar) Mellencamp has endured three decades in the fickle rock and roll eye. Sadly, his marriage to model Elaine Irwin did not survive. After 18 years, the pair announced last week that they are calling it quits. The breakup comes as a shock to manydivorce attorneys in Pasadena, as the pair was seen as one of music's royal couples.
It's a pairing as old as rock and roll itself: the rock star and the supermodel. But unlike Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall and others before them, John Mellencamp and Elaine Irwin appeared to have real staying power. After all, the couple lived in Indiana and stayed out of the Hollywood music scene. Elaine and the kids were often found on tour with John. And, most remarkably, the couple stayed out of the rumor mill... a major feat for a celebrity couple. So stargazers were taken aback when Mellencamp and Irwin broke up right before the holiday season.
They released a statement saying they "are proud of their 20 years together and are very happy with their accomplishments both as parents and as a family," according to spokesperson Bob Merlis. "They will continue to raise their two children in Indiana but have decided to call it a day as a couple."
Irwin is Mellencamp's third wife and while there is no official reason for the breakup, gossip hounds have speculated that John might already have moved on to another woman. US Magazine, People and several other rags are reporting that movie actress Meg Ryan secretly started dating Mellencamp about 3 months before the divorce announcement to Irwin became public. The pair recently was photographed in New York's hip SoHo neighborhood at a coffee shop near Ryan's apartment.