It seemed like a fairytale romance: a dashing movie star and a stunning supermodel tying the knot in a glamorous Las Vegas wedding.
But despite their picture-perfect appearance, Cindy Crawford and Richard Gere’s marriage was destined for failure from the start, largely due to the couple’s significant age gap.
In a recent interview, Crawford opened up about her short-lived union with Gere, whom she married in 1991 when she was just 25 years old and he was 42.
“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,” the iconic model explained.
“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.”
Crawford and Gere first met in 1987 at a barbecue hosted by famed photographer Herb Ritts.
“There were a lot of really cool people there. I was like, ‘Wow! Jack Nicholson!’” Crawford recalled. “It was still all new to me.”
The couple began dating shortly thereafter, and as Crawford’s star was on the rise, she found herself molding her interests and personality to fit Gere’s.
“You’re willing to kind of mold yourself around whoever you are in love with,” Crawford admitted.
But as she began to come into her own and assert her independence, the relationship dynamic shifted.
“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,’” she said.
Despite the challenges posed by their age difference, Crawford credits Gere with teaching her how to navigate 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.”
As a self-described “nice girl from the Midwest,” Crawford struggled with setting those same boundaries for herself.
“My inclination is always to give and say yes because I want people to like me,” she confessed.
“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.’”
Gere taught Crawford that making a brief but meaningful connection with fans was more important than always saying yes to their requests.
“He felt it was really just about looking someone in the eyes and making sure that they felt seen,” she said.
Though their marriage ended in divorce in 1995, Crawford looks back on her time with Gere fondly.
“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.”
Following their split, both Crawford and Gere found love again with partners closer to their own age.
Crawford has been happily married to businessman Rande Gerber since 1998, while Gere tied the knot with publicist Alejandra Silva in 2018.
In the end, though their romance burned hot and bright, Crawford and Gere’s age difference proved too much to overcome.
As Crawford so eloquently put it, “It’s hard to change the nature of a relationship once you’re already in it.”
But while their marriage may have been short-lived, the lessons Crawford learned from Gere have undoubtedly served her well in the years since.
