John Mellencamp had a truly romantic reason behind his recent real estate move.
The singer and painter purchased his SoHo artist’s loft to stay close to his fiancee, Meg Ryan, he tells archdigest.com. (Her apartment in nearby TriBeCa was also recently featured by AD.) But the musician’s space is also a clever way to preserve both his relationship and his art.
“To live an artist’s life, you have to create every day,” he says. “When I was [at Ryan’s home], there was no place for me to paint, no place for me to write, so I bought this little place.”
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Now, he gets to perfect his crafts and be near his longtime love, to whom he became engaged in 2018.
The pair have been notoriously private about their relationship, but a source close to the rocker told PEOPLE in November, “John and Meg are a great combination.” Adds an entertainment insider: “They relate on many levels. John loves her intellect, personality and sense of humor. Meg is in awe of his talent.”
This will be the second marriage for Ryan, 57, who was wed to actor Dennis Quaid for 10 years (with whom she shares a son, Jack, 26), and the fourth for Mellencamp, 67, who has five kids from his three previous marriages.
Ryan and Mellencamp began dating in 2011, after he ended his 18-year marriage to model Elaine Irwin, despite Ryan living in New York City with her daughter Daisy, 14, whom she adopted in 2006, and Mellencamp preferring to spend time in his home state of Indiana.
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In addition to his place in Indiana, the musician also has another apartment in New York and a beach house on Daufuskie Island, South Carolina. He reportedly purchased this loft for $2.3 million in January 2018.
The long, narrow space, has an industrial feel. There are brick walls, which Mellencamp exposed, and heavy metal doors that he had saved in a storage unit in Indiana and brought in to give the studio an intentionally rough-around-the-edges vibe.
But the loft is also highly functional. It has a kitchenette, a dining alcove and a bedroom area, where he says his children stay when they visit. He decorated the place with help from designer Trevor Goff, who has worked on several homes for him.
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Despite keeping his creative space separate from the home he shares with Ryan, the actress does have some input in his art.
“I was very heavily influenced by German expressionism,” he says. “Meg [Ryan] likes to tell me, ‘John, your heritage has to be from a small town in Germany called Anger, Germany.’”
Read the full feature and see more photos on archdigest.com.
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