Dennis Quaid Never Dated This Co-Star In The '90s (But Everyone Assumes He Did)
Dennis Quaid is a charming actor who has been in the business for decades. Over the course of his career, he has also had plenty of high-profile romances with other stars. Quaid has been married to both Meg Ryan and "Halloween" star P.J. Soles. He also had relationships with actors Lea Thompson, Andie MacDowell, and more. Some of these women were his co-stars before or during their relationships, but there's one fan-favorite co-star of his who, despite rumors, he never dated.
The actor in question is none other than Elaine Hendrix, who played the beautiful and confident Meredith Blake in 1998's "The Parent Trap." Her character was the 26-year-old woman engaged to Quaid's Nick Parker when the twins Annie and Hallie, played by Lindsay Lohan, and their scheming throw the couple for a loop. Everything changes after the sisters meet at a summer camp and switch places, forcing Parker and his ex, Natasha Richardson's Elizabeth James, back into each other's lives.
Hendrix and Quaid had great chemistry in the film, so much so that, despite their 18-year age difference in real life, many people assumed they dated in real life as well. Unfortunately for fans of the potential couple, this never happened. But the two actors have remained close friends over the years.
Dennis Quaid and Elaine Hendrix were only ever co-stars with great chemistry
In "The Parent Trap," Elaine Hendrix's character Meredith Blake was younger than Dennis Quaid's Nick Parker. However, their age difference in real life was larger. This didn't matter much to fans, as they still thought their on-screen romance transferred to the real world. They were wrong. But Hendrix could understand why fans thought this way.
In a 2021 interview with Business Insider for the film's 23rd anniversary, Hendrix declared, "I thought we had tremendous chemistry." As for the age difference, she said of Quaid, "He's just such a guy. ... I think it worked well." Hendrix also discussed feeling older or younger than your age. She added, "One of the generalized differences between men and women is that boys mature later and girls mature earlier. So I think I was sort of an older 26." She also called Quaid a "younger" 44 during filming. In a 2019 Vanity Fair interview with co-star Lisa Ann Walter, who had a crush on Quaid while shooting "The Parent Trap," Hendrix admitted that he was an interesting and attractive guy, saying, "He would be Mr. Melt-you-with-his-smile one minute — and then you'd go have lunch with him, and he'd walk away, and he's had half his lunch on his shirt because he's such a dude." She's still never admitted to dating or crushing on him.
Quaid was actually in quite the high-profile romance during filming and promotions for the classic film. The actor got married to movie star Meg Ryan in 1991. The two stayed together until their 2001 divorce. They announced their separation the year before. But throughout the 1990s, the couple seemed happy and in love. As for Hendrix, she's generally kept her relationships on the down low, but in the mid-to-late-1990s, she dated her "Married... with Children" co-star, David Faustino.