Anne Heche, who died in August, wrote about her romance with Ellen DeGeneres in her new memoir. (Photo: Portal)
Anne Heche’s upcoming memoir offers new insights into her headline-grabbing romance with Ellen DeGeneres in the ’90s.
In an excerpt from Call Me Anne obtained by People, the late actress wrote that the former host of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, with whom she was in a relationship from 1997 to 2000, was the only woman she had dated had ever fallen in love. She also detailed the behind-the-scenes chaos when they first got together in 1997 — and how the world and Hollywood just weren’t ready.
A lot has happened in a short time. Coming out on her eponymous show and in real life in 1997, DeGeneres met the Volcano actress and they fell head over heels in love. Both were warned of the impact this could have on their careers, with Heche being held back from bringing DeGeneres to the premiere of Volcano for fear the relationship would hurt the film’s success. They competed together anyway, resulting in Heche losing a “multimillion-dollar movie deal.” Heche had also just signed a big movie deal to play Harrison Ford’s love interest in Six Days, Seven Nights – and their new romance had apparently got director Ivan Reitman.
“I was called into my co-star Harrison Ford’s trailer during a lunch break the first week of shooting,” Heche wrote in the book. “I was struck by the sight of director Ivan Reitman and Harrison sitting on one of two white faux leather sofas. I hesitantly sat down on the white imitation leather sofa opposite.”
Harrison Ford and Anne Heche are shooting Six Days, Seven Nights. (Photo: Getty Images)
Heche said the men “watched the evening news,” including an erroneous report that she and DeGeneres, who had just met, were pregnant with their first child together.
“It was rumored that Ellen and I were pregnant,” she wrote. “Our ‘pregnancy’ was everywhere. They showed me this as proof of why this openness about my relationship was becoming a pain in the ass for them. Why, Ivan asked me, can’t I just be like Jodie Foster? (I didn’t know what that meant. ‘Everybody knows,’ he explained, ‘it’s her sexuality. ‘She just doesn’t talk about it.’)” (Foster came out in 2013.)
The story goes on
Heche recalled that it was “strange” that someone would think two women “could get pregnant so quickly,” but she found it even stranger that “they cared so much about perception that I would ruin a movie.” who hadn’t. not even been shot?”
For what it’s worth, according to the book’s synopsis by publisher Heches, Ford became a mentor on the set. Reitman died in 2022.
Anne Heche and Harrison Ford at the premiere of Six Days Seven Nights in 1998. The action adventure film was a moderate box office success. (Photo: Getty Images)
The ‘Men in Trees’ actress wrote that the “most amazing thing of all” — from the time she started dating DeGeneres to the release of her first book, Call Me Crazy, in 2001 after they broke up — “was that nobody bothered to ask me about it. No matter how many articles were written about me, nobody asked me why I did what I did. What force would have made a man risk everything he was promised, his whole career? Why? Why would I have done that?”
She wrote that since no one asked, she would explain why. “Because I had lived in a family built on lies,” Heche wrote. “My father has hidden his sexuality all his life. When I met Ellen and she spoke openly and honestly about her sexuality, it was the most attractive and alluring trait in a person I had ever seen.”
Heche said she was “hypnotized” by DeGeneres’ honesty, and that’s why she was the first and only woman I’ve ever fallen in love with. I was in love with a person who chose to use her very public persona in support of the cause she stood for, which is LGBTQ+ rights for anyone on the planet who wanted them.”
The late star added, “Love became my destiny.”
With the spotlight blinding her, Heche split from DeGeneres in 2000. She later married Coley Laffoon, and Heche had their first son, Homer, now 20. After their divorce, she and her Men in Trees co-star James Tupper had a relationship that resulted in son Atlas, now 13. Heche and Tupper split in 2018.
Heche died after being involved in a car accident on August 5 when her Mini Cooper crashed into a house and caught fire, trapping her in the vehicle for 30 minutes. She was in a coma for days before the state of California declared her legally dead on August 12. On August 14, she was taken off life support. According to the medical examiner, she died mainly of smoke inhalation and thermal injuries. Despite initial reports, Heche was not drunk or high when she was involved in an accident with her car.
DeGeneres, who has been married to Portia de Rossi since 2008, made a rare comment about her ex after her death. “This is a sad day. Sending all my love to Anne’s children, family and friends,” DeGeneres wrote on Twitter.
Homer was appointed general administrator of Heche’s estate after a court battle with Tupper. Homer recently took to Heche’s Instagram to promote her new memoir, calling it “the product of mom’s continued efforts to share her story and help others where she could.” Call Me Anne is the result and I know she was excited to share it with the world. So mom, here I am sharing it with the community you created, may it thrive and take on a life of its own as you wished it would.”
Call Me Anne goes on sale January 24th.