The 1980s and early 1990s were a treasure trove of celebrity gossip and drama, thanks to the Brat Pack and Brat Pack-adjacent actors. I remember seeing pictures and headlines on the cover of tabloid magazines in the checkout line when I was a kid. I was always so intrigued by these covers, even if I was too young to understand a lot of what they were talking about, lol. I think this may be my gossip-lover origin story.
Two such tabloid fixtures were Demi Moore and the ageless Rob Lowe, who today still looks exactly as I remember him from back then, haha. Demi and Rob were frequent subjects of tabloid fodder, particularly after making St. Elmo’s Fire together. Kelly Ripa must have been reading the same covers that I was back then. Rob recently made an appearance on her podcast, “Let’s Talk Off Camera.” During it, Kelly decided to shoot her shot and flat out asked him if he’d ever had a “crush” on Demi. He confirmed that while they never officially dated, did in fact “briefly” had a fling.
Rob Lowe admitted he “briefly” had a fling with Demi Moore during their time as part of the “Brat Pack” in the 1980s.
“Did you have a crush on her? Did you guys ever date? Did you all date each other? Was it like, just — was it a big romp?” Kelly Ripa asked of the group of young actors on Tuesday’s episode of her podcast “Let’s Talk Off Camera.”
“I mean, Demi and I briefly — I’m not telling tales out of school — we briefly had a thing,” Lowe, 60, said after joking that it was a “big, big sex orgy” among the “St. Elmo’s Fire” cast. The “Parks and Recreation” alum then recalled 61-year-old Moore’s engagement to their co-star Emilio Estevez – before she married Bruce Willis in 1987.
“And then Emilio and Demi I think were engaged and then we all were at her wedding to Bruce,” Lowe said before adding that it was the “biggest wedding I had ever been to up until then.”
When the “Love Life” author further reflected on working alongside the film’s cast at the time, he noted that hooking up with each other was expected.
“Look, anytime you put young 20-something men and women together, hookups are inevitable,” Lowe explained. “I don’t think that has changed.”
Lowe has been married to Sheryl Berkoff, 63, since 1991. Meanwhile, Moore and Willis, 69, called it quits on their marriage by 2000. The “Ghost” actress and Willis welcomed three daughters together — Rumer, 36, Tallulah, 30, and Scout, 33 — before they split.
Elsewhere during the podcast, Lowe revealed that he and Moore continue to stay in touch via a group text as they work on a potential “St. Elmo’s Fire” sequel.
“It’s moving along,” he said. “It’s going a little more slowly than I would have liked, but that’s a good thing because we’re trying to find the right, writer and the right story.”
Lowe also shared that “all of the actors, everybody is on board. Everybody’s excited.” He also addressed how he thinks the film’s possible sequel will work in present time as the actors are older.
“I think the theme of ‘St. Elmo’s Fire’ today is that it’s never too late for happiness,” Lowe went on. “You know, because our kids are out of school, and maybe some of us have been divorced … all the things that you deal with as you get to our ages, this is an opportunity to explore those themes with characters that people know and love.”
We can now officially put a Rob/Demi fling in the official Brat Pack canon, y’all! From a gossip standpoint, I will never stop being interested in all of the hookups, makeups, and breakups from that time period. It would be wild if they got all of the Brat Pack and adjacents together to do one big podcast recap to set the record straight (and give us more to feast on) from that era. That would be gossip headlines for days. In the meantime, we need to talk about that potential St. Elmo’s Fire sequel! It’s kinda crazy that the first movie is going to turn 40 next year. It’s pretty awesome that they’ve got all of the original actors on board, too. Anyone have any ideas for a potential plot?! Oh man, it’s been decades since I’ve seen that movie. I think I’m due for a rewatch, ASAP.
Rob Lowe and Demi Moore are shown in screenshots from About Last Night (1986) and St. Elmo’s Fire (1985) via YouTube. They’re also shown posing together at a Tom Ford show in 2020. Credit: Xavier Collin / Image Press Agency / Avalon and Getty