Chrissy Teigen recalls being terrified credit card would decline on one of her first dates with John Legend

‘I remember the margarita that he ordered was $58,’ cookbook author recalls

Chrissy Teigen has spoken candidly about one of her first dates with John Legend, with the cookbook author recalling her fear that her credit card would be declined.

Teigen, 38, who has been married to Legend, 45, since 2013, opened up about the “terrifying” date while speaking to the Hollywood Reporter.

According to Teigen, the date marked the first time she’d taken Legend to a fancy dinner, with the couple opting for Jean-Georges in New York City. However, she became afraid she’d be unable to pay for the meal after the singer ordered a $58 cocktail.

“I took John to Jean-Georges when I was 20 years old, and I remember the margarita that he ordered was $58,” she recalled. “I was just blown away when it came out. It came out on a little dish and had little salts and everything.”

Speaking to the outlet, Teigen said that the restaurant had been her idea, but that she’d gotten increasingly worried throughout the meal that her card would be declined due to the steep cost of the dinner.

“My heart broke because I knew then that my card would probably decline,” she said. “I ended up going to the bank and getting cash because I was so, so scared that it would decline, so I ended up getting out like $800 cash.

“Our meal there was beautiful and wonderful, but the fear that went into having it… oh my god, I’ll never forget that feeling in my entire life. It was terrifying.”

The couple, who share four children: Luna, Miles, Esti, and Wren, met in 2006 on the set of Legend’s music video for “Stereo”. At the time, Teigen was 20, while Legend was 28.

In 2014, the cookbook author recalled their first meeting, with Teigen telling Cosmopolitan that she’d walked into Legend’s dressing room to meet him and found him ironing in his underwear.

“I walked into John’s dressing room to meet him, and he was ironing in his underwear,” Teigen recalled. “I said: ‘You do your own ironing!?’ He said: ‘Of course I do.’ I gave him a hug.”

At the time, Teigen also revealed that she and Legend went back to his hotel after the shoot, where they enjoyed In-N-Out and got to know one another.

The couple got engaged in 2011, before tying the knot in Lake Como, Italy, in 2013.