In 1990, while dealing blackjack at a charity event, the actress met investment banker and future Republican political candidate Jack Ryan. The couple married on June 15, 1991, in Wilmette, Illinois. They later had a son, Alex, on August 15, 1994. Jeri commuted between Los Angeles and Wilmette during their marriage. They divorced on August 27, 1999.
When Jack Ryan's campaign for an open United States Senate seat in Illinois began in 2003, the
Chicago Tribune newspaper and
WLS-TV, the local ABC affiliate, sought to have his records released. Both Jeri and Jack agreed to make their divorce records, but not their custody records, public, saying the latter's release could be harmful to their son.
On June 18, 2004, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert Schnider agreed to release the custody files. The decision went against both parents' direct request and reversed the decision to seal the papers in the best interest of the child. It was revealed that six years earlier, Jeri had accused Jack Ryan of asking her to perform sexual acts with him in public and in sex clubs in New York, New Orleans, and Paris. Jeri described one as "a bizarre club with cages, whips, and other apparatus hanging from the ceiling." Jack denied these allegations. Although Jeri only made a brief statement, and she refused to comment on the matter during the campaign, the document disclosure led Jack to withdraw his candidacy; his main opponent, Barack Obama, then won the 2004 United States Senate election in Illinois.
R: Because the Borg actor's ex-husband was labelled as a pervert by the media, the Republicans lost a key seat to Barack Obama, launching his political career and rise to the US presidency. 
