Anne Heche ‘broke Ellen DeGeneres’ heart in a big way’ after their sad split

Anne Heche feared her Dancing With The Stars journey could be over before it had even begun when she suffered a knee injury.

But the Volcano actress went on the steal the show in the first episode of the season with her amazing moves on the dance floor.

She scored a massive 18, which kept her safe from elimination from the competition, which is the US equivalent of Strictly Come Dancing.

The 51-year-old shot to fame in blockbusters like Six Days, Seven Nights and Donnie Brasco but is best known for her relationship with talk show host, Ellen DeGeneres.

The pair dated between 1997 and 2000 and announced they were a couple immediately after Ellen came out as gay.

While Anne admits she no longer talks to her ex-girlfriend, she only has complimentary things to say about their time together.

She said: “When I met Ellen she was beaming light. There was nothing that could have shone brighter than who she was in the centre of that room. I’ll never forget.

“Our time was a beautiful part of my life and one that I wear with honour. I was a part of a revolution that created social change, and I could not have done that without falling in love with her.”

However, Anne claims her career suffered as a result of her relationship with Ellen and the fact she had come out as gay.

The couple had met at a Vanity Fair party, shortly before Ellen’s coming out episode and the premier for Anne’s new film, Volcano.

She made the decision to take Ellen to the opening night of her new film but told the podcast, Irish Goodbye, that she would be “fired” from the film she had just signed up to make.

She was due to star in Six Days, Seven Nights with Harrison Ford.

Anne told the podcast: “I took Ellen, we were told that my contract for Fox would be extinguished and I would be fired. And that the movie that I had just met Harrison Ford on wouldn’t hire me. 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.”

However, the actress found an ally in her co-star, Ford, who is widely known to have backed her keeping the role in their film, Six Days, Seven Nights.

Anne claimed he called her when he heard the news and said: “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a f*** who you’re f***ing, we have a movie to make. Let’s make it the best one ever.”

Anne and Harrison did go on to star together in the film, Six Days, Seven Nights, unfortunately it was not a box office success and Anne admits her career suffered in the following years, with her not making a film for the next decade.

The actress said: “People said, ‘you’re not getting a job because you’re gay.”

Since then she has starred in a raft of independent films and several television series, winning both Emmy and Tony Awards.

She is has starred in the lead role in the gritty TV series, The Brave, as Patricia Campbell, and is now on our screens in Chicago PD.

Anne and Ellen were together for three-and-a-half years before the actress called time on their romance.

At the time, the former couple issued a statement describing their split as “amicable” but Ellen later said she had been left “heartbroken” by the break down in the relationship.

The talk show host added: “It was the first time I ever had my heart broken. I’d always been the one to leave relationships, and I had been in long-term relationships, and it was the one time I really believed this is forever.

“I’m going to be with this person forever, and I felt safe and I felt we shared so much together, and it was the first time I’ve had my heart broken, and it was in a big way because there is no closure.”

Ellen is now married to Portia de Rossi. The couple started dating in 2004 and tied the knot four years later.

Following her relationship with Ellen, Anne went on to marry cameraman, Coleman Laffoon, in 2001.

They have a son, Homer, but divorced in 2009.

Anne has a second son, Atlas, with her Men In Trees co-star, James Tupper, who she was in a relationship with until 2018.