Ellen DeGeneres and Anne Heche’s Relationship Timeline: The Way They Were

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Ellen DeGeneres and Anne Heche's Relationship Timeline: The Way They Were

Groundbreaking! Ellen DeGeneres and Anne Heche’s relationship may have been brief but it paved the way for LGBTQ+ couples in Hollywood and beyond. The former Ellen DeGeneres Show host and Heche had an instant connection when they met in 1997, and the women were smitten. “I met her at the Vanity Fair party. And it was a chemistry thing that you can't really describe,” DeGeneres later recalled while speaking with the Tampa Bay Times in May 1998. “It just happened. Obviously, I was attracted to her, but that wasn't enough. There are a lot of attractive people. She is so unique." The pair initially crossed paths shortly before DeGeneres’ Time magazine cover story, which ready, “Yep, I’m Gay,” hit newsstands and just days before Heche’s film Volcano was set to hit theaters. Despite any potential backlash at the time, Heche opted to have DeGeneres by her side when she walked the 1997 Volcano red carpet. The choice ultimately changed her career — and shifted how same-sex couples were viewed. “I took Ellen, we were told that my contract for Fox would be [ended] and I would be fired. And that the movie that I had just met Harrison Ford on wouldn’t hire me,” Heche recalled during a 2018 interview on the “Irish Goodbye” podcast. “And we went to the premiere — these are the stories that I know people don’t know — we went to the premiere, we were tapped on the shoulder, put into her limo in the third act and told that we couldn’t have pictures of us taken at the press junket. And both she and I were fired that week.” [jwplayer lg0f157O-zhNYySv2] The Brave alum was referring to her allegedly being blacklisted in Hollywood and DeGeneres’ sitcom Ellen going off the air less than one year after they went public with their romance. "I tried to back out of her life," DeGeneres said when speaking to the Tampa Bay Times in May 1998. "I said, ‘I think I'm ruining your career and your life and I don't think that I'm good for you. I think I should get out of here.'” The pair ultimately called it quits in 2000, but not before they left a major mark on the entertainment industry. “I was in a relationship with Ellen DeGeneres for three and a half years and the stigma attached to that relationship was so bad that I was fired from my multi-million-dollar picture deal and I did not work in a studio picture for 10 years,” the 13 Minutes actress claimed while competing on Dancing With the Stars in October 2020. Despite the negativity that came with their relationship, Heche called her time with DeGeneres a “beautiful part” of her life. “I’m proud to have been part of a revolution that helped move equality forward,” she told Mrs. Warburton magazine in August 2020 when speaking about the past romance, adding, “But there is still work to do.” Scroll down to relive Heche and DeGeneres’ relationship from the beginning: [podcast_block]

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March 1997

The actresses first crossed paths during Vanity Fair’s Oscars party.

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April 1997

Heche made the decision to bring DeGeneres as her plus one to the Los Angeles premiere of her movie Volcano, despite being told by the studio not to do it. The pair were allegedly escorted out of the theater before the end of the screening and asked not to attend the after party.

“I had told them that I was taking Ellen as my date, and I was told if I took Ellen, I would lose my Fox contract,” the Ohio native claimed during an October 2020 episode of Dancing With the Stars, noting that DeGeneres warned her that the decision could have major repercussions.

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July 1998

The Finding Dory star faced a professional setback when her sitcom Ellen was canceled after five seasons. The surprising news came shortly after DeGeneres’ character came out as gay on the series.

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June 1999

The pair moved into a multi-million-dollar home in Los Angeles together shortly after working together on the film If These Walls Could Talk 2. The movie starred DeGeneres and Sharon Stone and was directed by Heche. That same year, they teamed up for the comedian’s tour, which Heche again directed.

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August 2000

During the If These Walls Could Talk 2 premiere in March 2000, reporters asked what the walls of the couple’s estate would say about their romance, to which DeGeneres replied, “They’d be saying that we are very excited and we’re very happy and in love three years later.”

However, five months later, the twosome called it quits after more than three years together. They confirmed the news in a joint statement. “Unfortunately, we have decided to end our relationship,” the pair told the New York Daily News at the time. “It is an amicable parting, and we greatly value the three and a half years we have spent together. We hope everyone will respect our privacy through this difficult time.”

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September 2001

The former talk show host told the Los Angeles Times that her split from Heche was the “first time I’ve had my heart broken, and it was in a big way." DeGeneres detailed the breakup and claimed that she was left with a lot of questions.

"She walked out the door and I haven’t spoken to her since, I don’t have the answers," she said. "I would love to have them myself. I would ask all of the questions that everyone else wants to ask ... I’m left with everybody else wondering what happened. I don’t know."

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2001

Heche moved on with Coleman Laffoon, whom she met while he was working as a cameraman on the Ellen show. They welcomed son Homer in 2002. The duo called it quits in 2006 and filed for divorce the following year.

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2004

The Louisiana native, for her part, found her forever partner in Portia De Rossi. The pair wed in 2008 after four years of dating.

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2006

The Another World alum found love again with actor James Tupper shortly after splitting from Laffoon. Us confirmed in January 2018 that the duo parted ways after more than a decade together. The exes share one child, son Atlas, whom they welcomed in 2009.

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August 2020

DeGeneres made headlines in July 2020 for allegedly facilitating a toxic workplace on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. She later released an apology letter to her staff and WarnerMedia launched its own internal investigation into the claims. The talk show ended in 2022.

Heche, meanwhile, weighed in on the controversy surrounding her ex-girlfriend, calling on DeGeneres to own up to her part in the drama. “I haven’t spoken to Ellen in years. I’d listen to the people who have,” the Psycho actress said in Mr. Warburton magazine’s September 2020 cover story, which was released one month prior. “If I’m standing someplace and I don’t like what’s going on there and I stay there, it’s my fault.”

She continued: “So what are the actions that got me there and why can’t I get out of it easily if that’s not something that I want to be engaged in? Ellen is standing where she walks, and that is hers to continue that journey.”

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August 2020

“Our time was a beautiful part of my life and one that I wear with honor,” the I Know What You Did Last Summer actress told Mr. Warburton magazine of her past romance. “I was a part of a revolution that created social change, and I could not have done that without falling in love with her.”

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April 2021

Heche looked back at her best red carpet moments in a TikTok video, revealing that she had “not a single regret.”

The former soap opera star, did, however, throw shade at DeGeneres when reflecting on her 1998 Golden Globes wardrobe. “Why do I look like a hippie? It’s because Ellen didn’t want me to dress sexy,” Heche claimed in the video, giving the ensemble a zero out of 10 and a big thumbs down.

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September 2021

Us confirmed that the Adventures of Huck Finn actress had started seeing skincare guru Peter Thomas Roth over the summer.

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August 2022

Heche was involved in a fiery car crash in Los Angeles on August 5. The All Rise star became comatose after being taken to the hospital. “At this time she is in extreme critical condition she has a significant pulmonary injury requiring mechanical ventilation and burns that require surgical intervention,” a representative for the actress told Us on August 8. “She is in a coma and has not regained consciousness since shortly after the accident.”

DeGeneres reacted to the news of Heche’s accident while speaking with a photographer on August 10. “I don’t want anyone to be hurt,” she said, per Entertainment Tonight.

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August 2022

DeGeneres shared her condolences for Heche’s loved ones following the news that she was “not expected to survive” after her fiery car crash that month. “This is a sad day,” the Finding Nemo actress tweeted. “I'm sending Anne's children, family and friends all of my love.”