According
to People.com, DeGeneres and Hedison have been living apart
since last month, which would place their separation shortly
after Ellen’s interview with Stone Phillips on Dateline
NBC. When Phillips asked if Hedison was the love of her
life, DeGeneres responded, “Yes. Yeah. I’ve never
felt this way before. Ever.” The Advocate reports
that DeGeneres echoed these statements in her most recent interview,
which will hit newsstands December 21st, accompanied by exclusive
photos of DeGeneres taken by Hedison at the end of November.
Page
Six’s source explains that DeGeneres and de Rossi met
nine months ago during a photo shoot and were both attracted
to each other, but both women remained faithful to their girlfriends.
It wasn’t until December 1st during VH1’s “Big
in ’04” awards gala that the two met again—and
acted on their mutual attraction.
Apparently
both women decided to end their previous relationships
the next day, which contradicts People.com’s assertion
that DeGeneres’s relationship with Hedison had ended in
November. “Alexandra and Francesca are both devastated,”
says Page Six’s source. "Neither of them had any
idea what was coming." De Rossi is now said to be living
with DeGeneres in her Hollywood Hills home.
The
Advocate notes that the situation with de Rossi echoes
the beginning of DeGeneres’s relationship with Anne Heche
in 1997. Both de Rossi and Heche are younger blonde actresses,
and both apparently moved in with DeGeneres within a month of
meeting her. Page Six’s source added that “People
who know Ellen well feel she is going through a midlife crisis,
dumping Alexandra for a hot, younger woman. They predict Ellen
will come to her senses and dump Portia to go back to Alexandra
in the near future.”
These developments have not been confirmed by DeGeneres or de
Rossi’s spokespersons, but they have not been denied,
either, suggesting that much of what has been reported is based
in truth. What is interesting about the press coverage is that
none of it focuses on the fact that DeGeneres and de Rossi are
lesbians—they are being treated just like any other heterosexual
celebrity couple.
This
is very different from the backlash that erupted after
DeGeneres first came out with Heche as her girlfriend. In the
seven years since then, Melissa
Etheridge and Tammy Lynn Michaels have emerged as a prominent
lesbian celebrity couple with very few repercussions, and were
even featured on In Style Celebrity Weddings. While
de Rossi and Gregorini never openly announced their relationship,
they often appeared in public together and were known to be
living together. Their low-key approach to dealing with the
public has been echoed by other celebrities, including most
recently Cynthia Nixon
and Heather Matarazzo.
In
this climate of more openness, perhaps DeGeneres and de Rossi’s
fledgling relationship will avoid the negative reception that
DeGeneres received with Heche in 1997. While coverage of celebrity
break-ups is probably not the best way to raise awareness about
lesbians in the media, the fact that this development has been
covered exactly the same way that straight break-ups are covered—at
least so far—is a definite sign of progress.
