Meg Ryan's Men

Jan. 6, 2011— -- Meg Ryan, who perfected the role of the single girl on the big screen, appears to be single no more.

Ryan, the "Sleepless in Seattle" star, has been largely solo since she divorced Dennis Quaid in 2001. She reportedly had one very brief fling, with Russell Crowe, which ended after a few months. Now she appears to have found a new partner: singer John Mellencamp.

"She's in love," Popeater columnist Rob Shuter told ABCNews.com. "She's not hiding this romance. You'd think she'd try to keep it on the down low. Not Meg. If she falls in love or has a crush, she is not one of these celebrities who hides it for a long time."

Indeed, less than a week after Mellencamp, 59, announced his separation from his wife Elaine after 18 years of marriage, he and the 49-year-old Ryan were spotted shopping in New York City's Soho neighborhood and having coffee on Martha's Vineyard.

A source close to Ryan told People that the actress and the rocker actually began dating about seven weeks ago, and that Mellencamp and his wife had been separated for a while before that.

Their budding romance may be raising eyebrows given the timing of Mellencamp's split from his wife, but Ryan, whose marriage broke up when she began seeing Crowe, doesn't shrink from controversy when it comes to love.

"She doesn't care what you or me or anybody thinks," Shuter said. "All she cares about it that she finds happiness. The Russell Crowe thing was astonishing because she was so public about that."

And, as was the case with Crowe, Shuter said Ryan is hotly pursuing Mellencamp. "Her friends are saying she's head over heels, that she was quite aggressive," he said. "This is definitely Meg's catch."

The rock star and the actress may seem like an unlikely pair, but Shuter said Mellencamp is definitely Ryan's type.