Here's what Dennis Quaid had to say about his 39-year age gap with new fiancée Laura Savoie
Dennis Quaid doesn't care what people have to say about his relationship.
The 65-year-old actor recently got engaged to his 26-year-old girlfriend, Laura Savoie, raising a lot of eyebrows considering their 39-year age difference. During an interview with The Guardian, Quaid claimed that any criticism he's received hasn't made him think twice about his relationship.
"It really doesn’t bother us," he said. "Everyone comes from the perspective of their own life and so I can’t comment on the way they feel; I can’t even get angry."
The actor added that falling in love with a much younger woman wasn't necessarily in his life plan -- it's just what ended up happening.
"I didn’t go out looking for an age gap or someone really younger than me. I met her at a business event and then the relationship developed," Quaid went on. "You have no control over who you fall in love with. I don’t fall in love easy. But I can’t let what a few people think control all that. I’ve been married three times and this is the final one, I know it is. I feel like I have a real partner in life."
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Following the news of Quaid's engagement in October, comparisons to his character's relationship with 26-year-old Meredith Blake in "The Parent Trap" quickly made the rounds on social media. The actor laughed off the memes, saying that he actually revisited the vineyard where the film was shot and teased that he and Savoie might actually tie the knot there.
"In fact, that very day, we went to the Staglin Family Vineyard, where we filmed 'The Parent Trap,'" he revealed. "I hadn’t been there since 1996. So we went and they offered us the opportunity to get married there."
When The Guardian's Martha Hayes asked if they'll decide to ultimately get married there, Quaid seemed to confirm that they would, saying, "Well, wouldn’t you? For sure!"
Back in October, following his proposal, Quaid shared some details on the romantic moment in an interview with Extra.
"It happened on the very northernmost point of Oahu, at Turtle Bay. It was kind of spontaneous. It was very much a surprise," he revealed of the "sunset" proposal in Hawaii. "I had the ring in my pocket… It has been kind of a month-and-a-half plan… I wanted it to be private."
"She was actually taking a selfie of us, and I put the ring in front and said, 'Will you marry me?' — and then she fell down," he added.
Quaid and Savoie have been dating since early 2019, having been photographed in various locations since the spring, including during a romantic August getaway in Lake Como, Italy. The blonde beauty is currently working towards her Ph.D. in accounting at the University of Texas at Austin.
While Savoie previously dated "Entourage" actor Jeremy Piven as an undergraduate student at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Quaid has had multiple longterm relationships leading up to his current engagement. He began dating Savoie months after his two-year relationship with girlfriend Santa Auzina ended in December 2018.
That romance followed his 12-year marriage to Kimberly Buffington, which ended in 2016. They share 11-year-old twins Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace. Quaid also shares son, Jack, 27, with his ex-wife, Meg Ryan, from whom he got divorced after 10 years of marriage in 2001.
