For those of you who weren't into celebrity culture in the 2000s, good news. I absolutely was, and I'm here to tell you that the hottest couple of the early 00s was Sheryl Crow and Lance Armstrong (opens in new tab), who started dating in 2003, got engaged in 2005, and broke up in 2006) These two very sexy, very talented Seeing these people get together seemed like all of our vicarious romantic dreams coming true. Until they broke up.

The two dated during their back-to-back cycling victories in the Tour de France (1999-2005), and their relationship propelled Armstrong into the spotlight for reasons that had nothing to do with sports. So what do we know about the two during this period?

The two met at a charity event in 2003. At the time, Armstrong had just separated from his ex-wife, Christine. Crowe explained (opens in new tab), "I knew right away that I totally liked him." The two eventually ended up sharing a ranch in Austin, Texas, and Armstrong proposed in August 2005. Crowe tried on wedding dresses for Allure and talked about the upcoming wedding. However, rumors circulated that Christmas that year that there was a problem. A few months later, Crowe revealed that she had breast cancer.

"When I was diagnosed and my relationship fell apart, people camped outside to take pictures of Sheryl Crow at her most depressed moments. I lost faith in people," she told People (opens in new tab). She later moved to Nashville, Tennessee, adopted two boys, and said in 2019 that she loves her life. Armstrong is currently engaged to Anna Hansen (opens in new tab) (whom he met in 2008) and they have two children together.

Armstrong and Crowe were broken up by the time the doping scandal broke in 2012, and while Crowe has never been accused of knowing or being involved in any way, during the relevant years he was still a top-ranked and seemingly untouchable athlete, she was a major part of his life while he was still an athlete.

In his 2009 book and in Us Weekly (opens in new tab), Armstrong describes this problem as he sees it. He wrote: "She wanted to get married, she wanted children. Not that I didn't want it," he added, "but I didn't want it then.

"But we were going against her biological clock - that pressure cracked."

In 2013, after Armstrong came clean about the doping scandal, Crowe opened up. After Armstrong came out publicly about the doping allegations, Crowe made a comment. She did not comment on the extent to which she knew or did not know about doping (in her affidavit, it is mentioned that someone was present who was asked to deny that Armstrong had used performance enhancing drugs), but she did say that "honesty is always the best course of action and I think the truth will set you free." She added, "It's really hard to walk around knowing you're not telling the truth about something."

On the news of the scandal, she told Katie Couric in 2012, "I felt bad [for Armstrong] and I felt bad for his family.

In a book about Armstrong written by two Wall Street Journal reporters, Crowe was reported to have seen Armstrong receive an illegal blood transfusion (opens in new tab), and later Crowe was submitted to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in two sworn He was named in the affidavits. Crowe has not commented (opens in a new tab), and the allegations remain allegations. Crowe has never been accused of playing a meaningful role in his doping.

In 2017, Armstrong told Howard Stern about the duo. "It was a good ride. She's a great lady. Obviously it didn't work out, but I think she's happy and I hope so. (Open in new tab). 'I saw the Grammys the other night and we were like Grammy presenters. '"

He added that it's hard to be a power couple. 'It's tough to pull it off. To her credit, she was one of the biggest rock stars, she was a stay-at-home mom, but she was a great partner. She was in the race. It wasn't like I never saw her once."

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