Glaring Red Flags In Dennis Quaid's Alarming Age-Gap Marriage

With his kind features and dad energy, Dennis Quaid's movie career may make people think that he leads a modest life filled with barbecues and light beers. The truth is that Quaid has been caught in a number of controversies over the years, including his many marriages. He married his latest bride in 2020, and while things may be different with Laura Savoie than they were in Quaid's previous marriages, there are also a few red flags that are hard to ignore. The biggest is the large age gap. Quaid is 39 years older than Savoie; to put that in perspective, Quaid's oldest child, actor Jack Quaid, is a year older than his stepmom.  

Savoie and Dennis Quaid met in May  of 2019 and, as Quaid told People, "It was love at first sight." By October, they were engaged, with a Hawaii wedding set for April of 2020. Unfortunately, COVID-19 disrupted their wedding plans, but not their love; the couple ended up eloping in June and exchanged their vows at a seaside resort in Santa Barbara. Since getting married, Quaid and Savoie started Bonniedale Films. Speaking to Fox News Digital, Quaid said that life with Savoie is paradise. When asked about the age gap, he said, "She's got so much going on that, you know, I just don't notice it." In an interview with The Guardian, Quaid, who has been married four times and engaged five, insisted, "I don't fall in love easy."

That said, things may not be all that perfect. There are some pretty big red flags in Quaid's marriage.

Dennis Quaid has had a number of high-profile relationships since he first gained notice in "Breaking Away." It was on the set of that movie that Quaid met his first wife, P.J. Soles. Soles, best known for her role as Lynda in "Halloween," was 27 when they met. Quaid was just 23. The two wed in 1978 and divorced in 1983. While it isn't known what led to the divorce, a year before the separation was official, Quaid began dating Lea Thompson, who was quick to point out on X that his current wife was "-10 when I was engaged to him." Quiad and Thompson were engaged for three years before she left him forher now-husband, Howard Deutch. In 2024, Thompson took to X to cringe at her past love's support for Donald Trump. 

In 1988, Quaid began his most famous relationship when he met Meg Ryan. The two wed on Valentine's Day in 1991 and were married for a decade. When the split happened, reports claimed that it was Ryan's affair with Russell Crowe that was the impetus for the divorce. Ryan, who was seen by the public as America's sweetheart, saw her career gravely damaged by the scandal. In 2008, Ryan opened up about the divorce to In Style (via Today), saying that what people didn't know at the time was that "Dennis was not faithful to me for a long time, and that was very painful." 

On Quaid's side, he told Megyn Kelly (via Yahoo!) that his time with Ryan was "the most successful relationship of my life," and partially blamed his jealousy over her rising career for the collapse of their marriage. Quaid's apparent tendency to cheat doesn't bode well for his current marriage.

After his divorce from Meg Ryan, Dennis Quaid briefly dated Andie MacDowell, whom he met on the set of "Dinner with Friends." After that, Quaid entered a short relationship with former Playboy Playmate Shanna Moakler, who is 21 years his junior. In 2002, Quaid spent time with real estate designer Cynthia Garrett, who is 11 years younger than him, and followed that relationship by dating hairstylist Anna Poche, who was 20 at the time (Quaid was 48). 

Then, in 2003, Quaid met Kimberly Buffington. Buffington was 33 when she met the Hollywood everyman. Quaid was 49. The two married in 2004 and had twins, via a surrogate, in 2007. Quaid and Buffington were married for 12 years, and the last six were apparently a rollercoaster of breaking up and reuniting. Buffington filed for divorce in March 2012 but withdrew the paperwork two months later. Then, in October, she filed for legal separation. Quaid filed for divorce shortly after that, but things apparently worked out, as the divorce proceedings were dismissed in 2013. But in 2016, Buffington filed for divorce one last time, and everything was finalized in 2018.

It's unclear what was at the heart of Quaid and Buffington's will-they-won't-they divorce proceedings, but Quaid was quick to move on to his next marriage, which may be a bad sign. As separation and divorce coach Carol Madden explains, "Divorce is so different because you go from years of having a house full of noise and kids to absolute nothingness." This can lead to a rebound relationship built on a desire to replace lost companionship and not an actual connection with another person. 

Most couples tend to appear on each other's social media posts often. For example, mixed in with promotional posts, Kumail Nanjiani's Instagram has many videos and photos of him with his wife, Emily Gordon, who, like Dennis Quaid and his wife, Laura Savoie, started a production company together. But looking at Dennis Quaid's Instagram, it would be easy to believe that he is single. Scrolling through his page shows that, while Quaid doesn't post often, he mainly posts about his career as an actor and as a musician, his faith, and his political beliefs. 

Meanwhile, Savoie keeps her social media accounts private, but, according to Us Weekly, she happily shared photos of her time with Quaid early in their relationship. It could be that Quaid, who is in his 70s, isn't social media savvy, though he appears to understand it well enough to post videos about the Houston Texans. Of course, since Savoie keeps her Instagram set to private, it could be her choice to stay off of his page as much as possible. After all, Quaid is more than happy to discuss his wife in interviews. While promoting his Paramount+ series "Happy Face," the actor told People that he and Savoie are true crime buffs who love "Dateline," and he explained to Fox News that Savoie was unsettled by his performance in the show.