How Patrick Dempsey Fell in Love with an Ordinary Hairdresser and for Her He Was Ready to Give Up Acting in Movies

Patrick Dempsey was one of those actors who grew up in a family far from Hollywood. That’s why he started his career from the bottom. And at the moment when he managed to achieve real success, he turned down a promising role. And it was all for love.

Love at first haircut.

Patrick Dempsey has been called the most attractive man in Hollywood many times. He from the beginning of his career was a dream for many women. However, the actor was not interested in fleeting romances. Already at the age of 21, he married actress Rochelle “Rocky” Parker, who was older than him by 27 years. This marriage lasted for 7 years. Until one day the actor decided to go to the salon to cut his hair.

In 1994, Patrick Dempsey made an appointment at a Los Angeles beauty salon called Delux. The salon’s stylist and owner, Jillian Fink, thought it had to be a joke, as one of the employees was a bit of a prankster. “All the people he had written in were names of celebrities famous in the ’80s, like Molly Ringwald,” Fink recounted.

The actor was 28 years old at the time and had already achieved a certain amount of popularity, due to his roles in Can’t Buy Me Love and Loverboy, among other titles.

When the actor opened the door, the stylist couldn’t believe it. “I was shocked. But at the same time, I was happy because he was so cute,” Jillian admitted years later. The situation was complex, to say the least, as she was in a relationship, and he was ending his first marriage to Rocky Parker.

Dempsey could have gone that one time and never come back, but he continued to visit the salon for a long time. By his own admission, “It took another three years of occasional haircuts and harmless banter.” But he felt a certain connection as many years later he said that “she was always flirting”.

Become a family.

In 1997, after Patrick’s divorce, one of his friends told the actor that Jillian had separated, so he decided to call her. The first date seemed as if taken out of a romcom — the actor cooked pasta for her at his house. Their love was so dizzying and overwhelming that within three months they were living together, and two years later, in 1999, they got married.

The couple had an intimate ceremony on a farm in Maine, which belonged to the actor’s family. “He saw her and started crying,” shared Kristen Mason, the bride’s sister and business partner.

After they tied the knot, both of their careers took off. Jillian, who had sold her Delux salon in 1998, began making her own cosmetics. She took a major leap forward when she created a lipstick for the filming of Charlie’s Angels in 2000, motivated by her friend Drew Barrymore.

As for Patrick, who had been going through a slump in terms of work and popularity for a few years, he rebounded in 2000 with the role of detective Mark Kincaid in Scream 3, a film from the popular horror franchise.

With both of their careers flourishing, she in the cosmetics industry and he in the film industry, they decided to enlarge their family. In 2002, they welcomed Talula, their eldest daughter, and in 2007, their twins Sullivan and Darby. Patrick spoke about his role as a father a few years ago, “I’m constantly amazed by their insight and their observations. It’s fascinating and fun to come up with answers to their questions.”

Despite their strong bond, the couple started experiencing some issues over the years. Dempsey seemed to have no time to devote to his family. In 2004, the actor started racing cars professionally and, in parallel, continued with his acting career, being one of the main stars of Grey’s Anatomy.

A divorce that made the marriage even stronger.

In 2015, Dempsey was in Daytona Beach for a 24-hour race when Jillian filed for divorce. At the time, their oldest daughter was 12, and their twins were about to turn 8. “It is with careful consideration and mutual respect that we have decided to end our marriage,” the couple’s official statement read.

In the months following the announcement, despite the rumors, they attended couples counseling to try to pick up the pieces of their relationship. “Jill and I decided it was time to work on our issues and improve. We wanted to be role models for our kids like, okay, if you have differences, you can work them out.” In 2016, they called off the divorce and got back together.

The actor had to make a radical decision to win his wife back. In 2015, he left his role as Derek Shepherd in Grey’s Anatomy, which left thousands of fans heartbroken. In addition, he stopped racing cars and only kept his position as owner of the racing team.

Thanks to therapy, Dempsey understood that his family should be a priority and that quality time with his wife and children was very important. “I became frustrated with the lack of quality of experience in my life. I wanted to get to that deeper level and not just skirt the surface.”

They finally reconciled but never stopped working on their relationship. “You’ve got to communicate, stay open, and not get lazy,” said the actor, who decided to open his heart and speak about what keeps his marriage strong. He even stressed the importance of going on dates, despite the difficulty of raising three children.

Since then, Jillian and Patrick dedicate romantic posts to each other now and then, either for their birthdays or for their anniversary. A very beautiful one was shared in August 2018, when they took a photo kissing each other in the same place where they got married — the message read, “This spot 19 years ago, today.”

For some people, divorce is a period that is not easy to go through. Others see it as the beginning of something new, a chance to become true friends and support each other after marriage. Either way, we are glad that Jillian and Patrick have become one of those strong couples in Hollywood that we want to be like.