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In the wake of Anne Heche’s horrific car crash, which destroyed a home and left the actress with severe burns, there is resumed interest in her relationship with Ellen DeGeneres.
The pair dated from 1997 through 2000, and did not initially go public with their romance.
Their seemingly solid relationship, bolstered by talks of having children together and getting married if the Civil Unions law passed in Vermont, came to an unexpected ending, according to friends.
Anne Heche, left, says she had a difficult time getting work after going public with her relationship with Ellen DeGeneres, right.
(Getty Images)
A TIMELINE OF ANNE HECHE’S CAR CRASH: HOW STAR’S FIERY CRASH LANDED HER IN CRITICAL CONDITION
On Aug. 18, 2000, the couple issued a joint statement announcing they were no longer in a relationship. Just a day after the breakup announcement, Heche displayed bizarre behavior, abandoning her SUV on the road and subsequently walking 1.5 miles to a stranger’s house.
The stranger, who initially let Heche into her home, grew more weary as the actress made no plans to return to her car, and called the sheriff’s department.
When the authorities showed up, the stranger told People Magazine, “Heche told them that she was ‘God, and was going to take everyone back to heaven … in a spaceship.'”
Heche was taken to a hospital and released a few hours later but continued to struggle in the years ahead.
Ellen DeGeneres, center, seen here with Anne Heche, right, and her mother, Betty DeGeneres, says she doesn’t know why Heche broke up with her.
(Getty Images)
In an interview with Page Six, Heche claimed her relationship with DeGeneres made it difficult to find work. She says, “I didn’t do a studio picture for 10 years. I was fired from a $10 million picture deal and did not see the light of day in a studio picture.”
She got back to work with the film “Six Days, Seven Nights,” costarring Harrison Ford. And while Heche says nobody else wanted to work with her, she credits Ford for asking her to star in the film with him. Heche calls him her hero, revealing that he told her, “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn who you’re sleeping with.”
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Anne Heche, right, and Ellen DeGeneres.
(Getty Images)
Heche and DeGeneres have continued to stay predominately quiet about their relationship, with DeGeneres telling the Los Angeles Times just a year after their split, “She walked out the door and I haven’t spoken to her since. I don’t have the answers … I’m left with everybody else wondering what happened.”
DeGeneres has not shared any comment since Heche’s car crash, though Heche’s other exes, including James Tupper and Thomas Jane, did share positive thoughts.
