How Jack Quaid’s Famous Parents’ Divorce Affected Him As A Child

Divorce is a tough experience for any child, let alone one with famous parents. Being just five years old also meant that Jack Quaid wasn’t totally aware of what was going on at the time. “It’s one of those weird ages for your parents to get divorced,” he explained on the “Allegedly with Theo Von & Matthew Cole Weiss” podcast. “You’re old enough to know what’s going on, but young enough to be kind of naïve about it.” 

Maybe it would have been easier if Quaid’s parents were John and Jane Doe, but they weren’t. “It’s hard to ignore when you’re at a grocery store and you’re checking out and you look at [magazines], and there’s a photo of them with a little paper rip graphic between them,” he said. “It’s a hard deal.” While acknowledging his parents’ split was unique, Jack added that divorce is generally painful.

Ironically, it wasn’t until Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan’s divorce that “The Boys” star truly became aware of his parents’ fame. It sounds crazy, but it makes sense if you remember that he was just a little kid at the time. “It didn’t really hit me, to be honest,” Jack explained during the TCA Winter Press Tour (via Us Weekly). “[Once the news broke] I was like, ‘Oh, OK, so everyone knows.’ Then, yeah, I knew [they were famous], but it was just kind of normal to me. They were just my parents.”