MEG RYAN and RUSSELL CROWE

Crowe and Ryan enjoyed a brief public romance after meeting on the set of PROOF OF LIFE in 2000 - leading to speculation the movie beauty had left her husband for the Oscar-winning GLADIATOR star.

Despite the rumours, Quaid and Ryan have always insisted they split in a "mutual and amicable" way before the actress began her ill-fated relationship with Crowe.

On THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW last month (MAR06), Ryan declared Crowe "wasn't a home-wrecker" and praised him for "(taking) a lot of heat for that, and he had a lot of grace".

Meg Ryan's first TV interview in two years shown on Oprah USA - 03.01.06

However, Crowe is unimpressed his gallant behaviour wasn't defended earlier, because it fuelled his reputation as a Hollywood badboy.

He says, "It would have been nice to hear (her) say that a few years earlier.

"A lot of the badboy thing and attendant pressures came from that time. Everything seeps out from that, and a mould grows over you, because of the implications.

"(However ) it's really brave that she finally got around to talking about it in public... the horse has bolted and life has moved on."