It was quite exceptional at that time that they had themselves photographed as a couple on red carpets; their openness was both unprecedented and groundbreaking. But the relationship broke down and there was no contact between the two women in recent years.
This became apparent immediately after the car accident that Anne Heche caused in Los Angeles, under the influence of cocaine and fentanyl. Immediately after she was removed from the burning wreckage, it became clear how serious the actress was. Not only did she have serious burns, the brain injury suffered would be fatal to her anyway. Heche lived for a few more days, after which she was taken off the ventilator.
‘No contact’
There was no longer a close relationship between Ellen and her ex, as it turned out the day after the accident. Then, walking through the streets of LA, the comedienne was asked by a reporter if she knew about Anne. She said in a measured way: “We have no contact, how can you know how someone is?”
The blunt reaction may be typical of the cheerful Ellen DeGeneres on TV, but for the relatives of Anne Heche – including her sons Homer (20) and Atlas (13) – it was undoubtedly a reason not to ask her for the funeral, which the family says will be ‘small and intimate’.