DeGeneres and Heche split

Aug 19, 2000 by Ian Evans

Ellen DeGeneres and Anne Heche, Hollywood’s most famous and public lesbian couple, have split up.

The pair released a statement saying that “Unfortunately, we have decided to end our relationship. It is an amicable parting, and we greatly value the 3 1/2 years we have spent together.”

DeGeneres, 43, and Heche, 31, first became known as a couple after DeGeneres declared the homosexuality of both herself and the character she played on ABC’s Ellen.

They worked together to make the HBO film If These Walls Could Talk II. Heche directed Ellen and Sharon Stone in a story about a lesbian couple trying to have a baby.

Before DeGeneres, Heche had been linked to actors Steve Martin and Richard Burgi.