Strange Things About Cindy Crawford's Marriage
John Sciulli/Getty Images After her marriage to actor Richard Gere ended in divorce in 1995, supermodel Cindy Crawford had no problem jumping right back into the dating world. As one of the most stunning woman to ever grace a fashion runway, it was her jaw-dropping beauty that caught the attention of businessman and former model Rande Gerber. There was only one problem: neither of them were single when they met.
It would take a few years for the stars to align, but in 1998, the Pepsi spokesmodel and the businessman exchanged "I do's" in a top secret wedding ceremony. Their marriage has outlasted those of many of their peers, and the parents of two — son Presley Gerber and daughter Kaia Gerber – may appear to be the epitome of "relationship goals" on the surface, but there's nothing orthodox about this coupling.
We just can't ignore some of the strange things about Cindy Crawford's marriage.
Was Cindy Crawford acting like a total groupie?
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images Rumors about Cindy Crawford and her husband's marital struggles have long plagued their relationship. However, many believed their marriage was really on its last leg after Star magazine caught up with Lyle Riddle, the drummer of the rock band Terraplane Sun, who claimed a drunken Crawford was acting a little too flirty at one of the band's shows. "She certainly wasn't acting like a married woman, but like a single, 21-year-old party girl," Riddle said.
Riddle claimed Crawford openly flirted with the band's guitarist, Johnny Zambetti, and allegedly shouted out, "My marriage is over!" while Gerber "looked on from afar, completely unfazed." Wowzers.
A rep for Crawford denied the dirt, and we really want to believe Crawford isn't disrespecting her marriage and embarrassing Gerber in that way. But where there's smoke, there's fire...
Do Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber live separate lives?
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images In honor of their 20th wedding anniversary in May 2018, Cindy Crawford gushed about her husband in an Instagram caption that read, in part, "I couldn't have chosen a better man to do this thing called life with. I love you!" Aww. Adorbs.
That post should've silenced the haters who were convinced Crawford's marriage was hanging by a thread, but InTouch Weekly (via Closer Weekly) really soured the couple's celebration. An insider told the gossip website there had been "constant drama" in the Gerber-Crawford household for years. Say what?
With their daughter, Kaia Gerber, traveling the world on modeling assignments, and their son, Presley Gerber, shacking up in the family's guesthouse, the empty nesters were reportedly drifting further and further apart. "Put it this way: They don't keep tabs on each other anymore. Sometimes it seems like they're living separate lives," the source claimed.
We're not sure if they're just going through the motions or if they're just comfortable being allegedly disconnected from each other, but from the outside, that seems strange.
Did Rande Gerber cheat during the honeymoon phase?
Ari Perilstein/Getty Images During the early stages of their marriage, Rande Gerber was building his business empire and allegedly being less than faithful to his new bride. "He's a big flirt, especially when he was more involved with his nightclub business," an insider told Closer Weekly. "Women were hitting on him all the time."
One woman, Harmony Kubiak, exposed Gerber and his alleged cheating ways in a 2004 interview with the National Enquirer (via Celebitchy). Kubiak, a former employee at Gerber's Whiskey Blue bar, said the alleged incident occurred in 2000 — just two years after Gerber married Cindy Crawford.
During a trip to New Orleans, Gerber, Kubiak, and friends were reportedly riding in a stretch limo on their way to a strip club when things supposedly got heated. "Rande suggested I sit on his lap. We were all pretty drunk by then," Kubiak said. After allegedly kissing, she claimed Gerber invited her to his hotel room, where she eventually passed out. When she woke up, she claimed Gerber was wearing nothing but a towel and was undressing her. "That's when things came to a screeching halt," Kubiak said. "I freaked out and told him I had to leave."
Kubiak claimed that because she refused his advances, she was fired from her job at Whiskey Blue. This wouldn't be the last time one of Gerber's employees would accuse him of acting inappropriately...
Rande Gerber was sued for sexual harassment
Ben Gabbe/Getty Images Two woman who previously worked for Rande Gerber's Moonstone Lounge in San Diego, Calif. filed a lawsuit against him and his company in 2009, claiming they were fired after rejecting his and other staff members' sexual advances, reported E! News.
Gerber called the allegations a "blatant lie," and his rep issued a statement through TMZ that said, in part, "Mr. Gerber will not settle this extortion case even for a single dollar and will take all actions necessary to clear his name, including filing a $10 million lawsuit for malicious prosecution once these allegations are proven false."
Gerber's good friend, actor George Clooney, even went to bat for him. Not only did Clooney agree to take a lie detector test alongside Gerber to prove the incidents never happened, but the actor also released a statement that said, "I was with Rande the entire night — as were a lot of people — they will all say the same thing that I'm saying. This event never happened. Period."
Whether the allegations are true or false, we really hate that Cindy Crawford had to deal with this. We're not sure how she managed to keep herself together without cracking!
Battle of the model siblings
D Dipasupil/Getty Images Cindy Crawford isn't the only one in the household who has sashayed down a catwalk or two. Rande Gerber also worked as a model, so it's no surprise to learn that the gorgeous couple's equally gorgeous children, and Presley Gerber, were both eyeing careers in the modeling industry.
It was their kiddos' model ambitions that reportedly caused strife between Cindy and her hubby — in particular, their son's desire to become a front-runner in the industry. "Rande's concerned about Presley being dragged into the toxic world of the catwalk, especially when he's still in the process of finding himself and figuring out what he wants to do in life," a source told Star magazine.
Ironically enough, papa Rande allegedly had no problem with their daughter pursuing modeling, which is rather strange if you ask us. Why the double standard, Rande?
As for Cindy? She was supposedly all for guiding both of her children through the industry with her first-hand knowledge and expertise, regardless of her spouses feelings on the subject. "At this point, I'm worried this is something they can't talk through and work out between themselves," the insider said of the couple's alleged disagreements.
Rande Gerber's drinking has 'gotten a little out of hand'
Eamonn M. Mccormack/Getty Images Not only is Rande Gerber good friends with George Clooney (pictured, right), but the buddies became business partners in 2013 when they launched a tequila brand, reported Business Insider. And when they're not selling tequila, they're drinking it, Cindy Crawford told late night host Conan O'Brien.
When O'Brien stated: "[The drinking has] gotten a little out of hand at some point, I understand," Crawford replied, "Yes." She recalled staying home on a Sunday night and letting her kids sleep in her bed while Gerber and Clooney hit the town. Crawford woke up in the middle of the night to make sure Gerber had made it home safe, and she found a fully-clothed man face down in her guest bedroom, whom she presumed to be her husband.
"So, I go over, I get on the bed and I'm like, 'Hey, babe.' And he looks, and it wasn't Rande. It was George. And I don't know who was more shocked, me or George, because I've woken George out of a dead, slightly inebriated slumber," she said.
Crawford wasn't too concerned over the mix-up, and who wouldn't want to find the super-hot Clooney sleeping in their spare bedroom? But, to us, it sounds like Crawford is living in the real-life version of Animal House. And that's not cool at all.
Cindy Crawford is 'fascinated' when Rande Gerber disagrees with her
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images They live very hectic lives, and they also have conflicting schedules at times. However, even when they were in the midst of their careers and their children were tiny tots, Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber always made time for one another. "We prioritize that," she told People magazine. "All throughout our marriage, we have made time to just be together, whether it's a walk on the beach or a weekend away." How romantic, no?
Not so fast. After sharing that they respect each other's opinion when they chat about different topics, Crawford also made a startling admission. "Even when we don't agree. When he doesn't agree with me, I am fascinated. I want to know why, because I respect him enough to hear him out and he does the same for me," she said.
"Fascinated" by their disagreements? Is this out of the "conscious uncoupling" playbook because that's in interesting way to describe arguments?
Home decorating brings out the worst in Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber
Jason Merritt/term/Getty Images After getting married in 1998, Rande Gerber moved into Cindy Crawford's home, and since it technically wasn't his humble abode, he wasn't comfortable giving his input on its style and décor.
Throughout the years, they have gone on to purchase numerous homes together, including their Malibu, Calif. estate and a Beverly Hills property that was purchased in 2017, according to TMZ. Their joint real estate purchases meant Gerber was more open to sharing his likes and dislikes, and it caused some issues. "I definitely came from a more traditional aesthetic and he came from more of this, like, contemporary thing," Crawford told People. "Then when we really had to merge, it was definitely ... we didn't agree on everything."
At the time of that interview, Crawford announced that they were still having problems agreeing on their home's style. "I've learned when to give in, and I think he's learned to give in," she said. "We push each other, so I think we would both agree that our combined projects are more layered and interesting because they have to make room for both of our aesthetics."
Doesn't this duo have more than enough moolah to divide their home into two different wings: one for him and one for her? Crawford can deck hers out with pieces from her home furniture collection, and Gerber can furnish his side with contemporary pieces up the wazoo. Problem solved!
Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber will stay friends ... no matter what
Brenda Chase, Neilson Barnard/Getty Images Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber first met at her agent's wedding, but there was just one problem: neither was available at the time. "When I met him I was still with Richard [Gere] (pictured, left) and he didn't want to go to the wedding with me ... Rande also had a girlfriend at the time so he wasn't looking to meet anyone either and that's the best time to meet someone because that's when you're truly yourselves," she told Harper's Bazaar.
Instead of diving into a relationship, they decided to start off as friends, and once Crawford's marriage with Gere went up in smoke and Gerber found himself single again, that's when they decided to give love a shot.
During an episode of Oprah's Master Class (via The Huffington Post), Crawford expressed just how beneficial it was that they didn't start out on a romantic note right away. "Being rooted and based in friendship, it keeps the relationship elevated," she said. "There's always a certain level of respect." She also added that they'll "always be friends no matter what."
Ruh-roh. That's a wacky thing for a married woman to say, don't you think? It's almost as if she's anticipating their marriage coming to an end, or maybe we're reading too much into this.
Cindy Crawford woke up like this, and Rande Gerber loves her for it
Instagram When it came time to plan their super low-key beachside wedding in The Bahamas, Cindy Crawford settled on a white, off-the-rack John Galliano dress that looked more like a nighty, and, come to find out, the sexy pajama look was the exact style Crawford was going for.
In her 2015 book, Becoming by Cindy Crawford (via Brides), she writes: "I wanted to look like the best version of the girl Rande loves waking up to every morning."
Apparently, Crawford's all-natural, morning appearance enthralls her man. He told Haute Living in 2012, "I do have the most beautiful wife in the entire world. I look at her now the same way I did when I first met her. I look at her in the morning and see her lying there and I know how lucky I am."
Yup, she's like fine wine, but we certainly hope there are other things he loves about her besides her good looks because aging is inevitable — even for someone as genetically flawless as Crawford!
Rande Gerber puts the kibosh on relationship chit-chat
Jason Kempin/Getty Images Even though Cindy Crawford stressed how important it was for her and Rande Gerber to be friends before lovers, we find it a bit odd that they don't always act like a couple in love or like friends, for that matter.
During a 2010 interview with Mirror, the world-renowned supermodel said, "We're not people who talk 20 times a day but I need to check in more than Rande does. I'm the woman, the more emotional one." That's fine and all, but she also added, "He'd be happy to never talk about the relationship again. Rande's philosophy is, 'If everything's good, why talk about it, and if it's bad, why talk about it?'" Oh, boy.
Though their lack of communication is mind boggling to us, it seems to work for them. You do you, guys.
Rande Gerber prefers a makeup-free Cindy Crawford
Rich Fury/Getty Images While its clear that Rande Gerber loves his Cindy Crawford's all-natural glow, the veteran supermodel revealed a weird nugget of information about Gerber's preference during a beauty tutorial for Vogue.
As she walked the publication's YouTube subscribers through her skincare and makeup regimen (and applied the most natural-looking makeup application ever), Crawford announced: "My husband hates makeup, so this is already too much makeup for him, but I do explain to him that women do makeup for other women, not men."
Okay, let's pump the breaks and recap: Blush, lipstick, foundation, concealer, and all that jazz go hand in hand with practically every photoshoot and runway show Crawford books. She basically gets dolled up for a living, and makeup not only enhances her natural beauty, it can also be used as a dazzling form of expression for the makeup artist, photographer, or fashion designer's concept.
On that note, isn't it super odd her husband hates the one thing Crawford dons day in and day out for the sake of her career? We think so!