Anne Heche has taken a walk back to the memory lane, 20 years after her romance with show host Ellen DeGeneres ended. 

In a cover interview with Mr. Warburton magazine for the September issue, the 51-year-old actress described their relationship as the “most beautiful part of her life”.

Recounting the mistreatment she and DeGeneres received in the 1990s for being open about their same-sex relationship, Heche said she was escorted out of her own premiere for the 1997 disaster flick Volcano because she brought DeGeneres who had just come out as gay in her sitcom Ellen.

She said; 

“Our time was a beautiful part of my life and one that I wear with honor. 

“I was a part of a revolution that created social change, and I could not have done that without falling in love with her. 

“The difference between what would happen today and what happened then is that I would not have been ushered out of my own premiere and fired from a multi-million dollar picture deal with Fox for taking a girl as my date.”

Though their relationship ended in 2000, Heche added that she is “proud to have been part of a revolution that helped move equality forward.”

The actress said; 

“But there is still work to do. I’ve paved this way for myself, and my honesty had every single thing to do with it. I think every interaction we have should begin with whether or not we can look at and talk to other human beings with 100 percent respect. My answer will always be ‘yes.’ We have to agree that it’s a possibility and that we all deserve it.”

On the recent accusations of toxicity on Ellen DeGeneres’ show, Heche said; 

“I haven’t spoken to Ellen in years. I’d listen to the people who have.

“If I’m standing someplace and I don’t like what’s going on there and I stay there, it’s my fault. So what are the actions that got me there and why can’t I get out of it easily if that’s not something that I want to be engaged in? Ellen is standing where she walks, and that is hers to continue that journey.”