What Anne Heche Said About Ellen DeGeneres Break Up

Emmy-winning actress and Tony nominee Anne Heche and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres was one of the hottest couples in Hollywood in the 1990s.

They began dating in 1997 after meeting at a Vanity Fair Oscar Party when Heche was a rising Hollywood star aged 28 and DeGeneres, 11 years Heche's senior, had a comedic career on the rise.

The couple parted ways in August 2000 after three years together, citing in a statement the split was "amicable."

The joint statement released at the time read: "It is an amicable parting and we greatly value the 3 1/2 years we have spent together."

However, a year later, DeGeneres revealed the split came as a huge surprise to her.

In conversation with the Los Angeles Times, DeGeneres reflected: "She walked out the door and I haven't spoken to her since, I don't have the answers."

For Heche, one year after the split, she went on to marry real-estate broker Coleman Laffoon. They welcomed their son Homer in 2002.

In their later years, Heche and DeGeneres had spoken out about their relationship and their break-up, with Heche sharing in an 2021 interview that she broke up over DeGeneres's alleged pursuit of money.

Speaking in her podcast Better Together with Anne Heche and Heather Duffy Bolyston in June 2021, Heche reflected on the reason they called it quits.

When asked directly by Boylston why she broke up with DeGeneres, Heche said: "Well, I think you know the answer to that question. I think we could probably whittle it down to one thing: If we live in love and kindness, and that is my destination and my dream for us all, I would say that was not her goal.

"I hope you like your money because that's why I broke up with you. Do you like sitting on your piles of cash? Because guess what, it gets you exactly where you are. And by the way, baby, it's what you wanted then and I hope you're liking it now."

She continued: "I broke up with her because her goal was to have a lot of money. Mine was to find love, and hers was, 'I want $60 billion."

Heche continued: "Good, good luck; our forks are never going to meet. The further we stay on with this, the further we will be apart."

Speaking back in 2001, DeGeneres said: "I thought Anne loved me with all her heart, but now I know the truth, Anne never truly loved me. I see now that I was being used," as reported by RadarOnline.

Sadly, Heche was involved in a fiery car crash that left her fighting for her life on August 5. She died on Friday, August 12, 2022, aged 53. Her representative said in a statement that the mother of two would be "deeply missed" by those whose lives she had touched.

When Heche was in the hospital, DeGeneres was asked about Heche's condition by reporters, to which she replied: "We're not in touch with each other, so I wouldn't know. I don't want anyone to be hurt."

DeGeneres later tweeted after Heche's death was announced: "This is a sad day. I'm sending Anne's children, family, and friends all of my love."

Heche's death was ruled as an accident by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner.

Newsweek has contacted Ellen DeGeneres's representatives for comment.