John Mellencamp and Meg Ryan are engaged. She announced the news on her Instagram profile with a quirky drawing of them together holding hands.
While many people know who Meg Ryan is, her husband-to-be is probably less well known among the general public.
So, for those of you who don’t know, who is John Mellencamp? Side note: He’s not as odd looking as the little guy in Meg’s drawing below.
John Mellencamp is a musician, best known as a pop sensation from the 1980s. He’s still active today and his music has moved into the rock genre over the years. He was born in Indiana in 1951 and had his breakout album in 1982 called American Fool.
Throughout the years, he continued to create music that hit home with small-town American residents across the country with songs like, Pink Houses and Small Town. He was elected to join the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.
Mellencamp suffered from a spinal defect and had neonatal surgery to fix it. He was reportedly a rebellious child who would rather party and hang with friends than go to school. It was in his earlier years that he found his love for music.
After attending Indiana’s Vincennes University and pursuing employment, he realized he wanted to focus on music instead.
He went to New York to work with music manager Tony DeFries, who had an impressive resume. It was suggested that John use an alias name and was given the name John Cougar. However, Mellencamp would later return to his birth name, even though he released music under the Cougar name.
Despite a rough beginning where he didn’t sell many copies, he would often be compared to Bruce Springsteen. In 1978, his single I Need A Lover became a hit overseas in Australia, and his album, Nothing Matters and What If It Did from 1980 ended up with a few popular singles. His biggest breakthrough would come two years later with the album American Fool.
Fans may remember songs like Jack & Diane, Hurts So Good, and Uh-Huh, Crumblin’ Down, Pink Houses and Authority Song, which would all come in the years to follow. He started winning awards, including the Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male in 1982.
In 1987, he released The Lonesome Jubilee, which marked a changing sound. He had three Top 20 songs on the pop charts that year — Paper in Fire, Cherry Bomb and Check It Out. Chart-topping songs would follow in 1989 and 1991 with new songs being released regularly. In 1992, he would star in the movie, Falling From Grace, which was a semi-autobiographical drama.
In 1994, John Mellencamp was touring when he suffered a heart attack. However, he continues to make music. In 2009, he recorded new songs and released an album, No Better Than This.
He would also focus on his painting, as he has been an avid oil painter throughout his life. He had his first exhibition at the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville in 2012. It was appropriately called, Nothing Like I Planned: The Art Of John Mellencamp.
In 2014, he released yet another album called Plain Spoken. His website reveals he’s released 31 albums in total.
The marriage to Meg Ryan will be his fourth marriage. He was first married to Priscilla Esterline from 1969 to 1981 and had one daughter, Michelle.
In 1981, he would marry Victoria L. Granucci and they would have two children — Teddi Jo and Justice. They divorced in 1989. In 1992, he married Elaine Irwin, but they would divorce in 2011. They have two kids together, Hud and Speck.
That makes John the father of five kids. Teddi Jo Mellencamp is currently on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. According to Bravo, Teddi appears to be thrilled with the engagement.
John and Meg started dating back in 2011, and would often be spotted on dates around New York City, including going grocery shopping and visiting coffee shops.
Meg Ryan and John Mellencamp have not announced a date for the wedding.