“Curious.” “Crazy.” “Genius.” How late actress Anne Heche was perceived by the
public did not match reality, according to one of her longtime partners. Keep
watching to find out which rumors about the actress were shut down.
Anne Heche and James Tupper fell for each other while working on the series
"Men In Trees." Both actors had other partners at the time,
and Tupper described the romance as "unexpected" when speaking to Access
in 2007. While describing their relationship that would last over a decade, Heche said,
"Out of our understanding that we want to live life the same way,
have the same point of view on life, we just were lucky enough to fall in love."
Before working with the "Donnie Brasco" actor,
Tupper read about his co-star's mercurial personality. He told Access,
"I'd heard a lot of things about Anne like everybody
else and I came up here keeping my mind open."
The couple never tied the knot, but they did develop a unique tradition that involved Tupper
popping the question. The "Big Little Lies" actor told Cupid's Pulse in 2015,
"One of the really fun things we do is every year I ask Anne to marry me."
A couple years later, Heche confirmed the perpetual proposal.
While discussing their relationship, she told Closer Weekly in 2017,
"Eternally engaged is fantastic."
Meanwhile, Tupper said he bought, quote, "a new ring" for each proposal.
In 2018, Heche and Tupper called it quits. Initially, they appeared on good terms,
but by 2020, the formerly "eternally engaged" pair was then engaged in a bitter custody battle
over their son, Atlas Heche Tupper, per Us Weekly. Despite the apparent bad blood,
Tupper still had kind words for Heche following her fatal car crash.
Shortly after Anne Heche's untimely death, actor Emily Bergl — who worked
with Heche and James Tupper on the show "Men In Trees" — penned a lengthy,
and fairly candid, Instagram tribute to the deceased actor.
Bergl mentioned how she was often asked about, quote, "crazy Anne Heche" during interviews.
Before heaping praise on her former co-star, the "Shameless" actor wrote on August 13th:
"She elicited more curiosity than any other famous person I've ever worked with. Anne was not only a
genius, but one of the most astoundingly focused and prepared actors I've ever worked with."
After discussing the "Six Days Seven Nights" actor's many talents,
Bergl mentioned the hardships Heche endured off-camera. Bergl wrote,
"But despite a sometimes harrowing life, she was so much fun to be around."
The heartfelt tribute that dismissed claims of Heche's reportedly "crazy" behavior was noticed
by Tupper who responded in the comment section. The "Revenge" star replied,
"Oh god thank you for writing this. Is all completely accurate and true. love you e."
After it was announced that Heche would not recover from her fiery car accident,
Tupper posted his own subtle, but moving, tribute to his ex on Instagram.
Throughout the years, Heche was aware of how she was perceived by some fans,
and others in the industry. She told Access in 2007,
"It's my heart ... I gotta go where it leads. People are somewhat confused by me
and I understand that, but I am also proud that I'm a woman who represents."
Anne Heche knew she had a reputation for being "crazy" – she named her 2001 memoir
"Call Me Crazy." She did little to quell the rumors, but the woman behind the headlines was,
by most accounts, a pleasure to be around and to work alongside. After Heche landed a starring role
on "Men In Trees," she knew she had to show her mettle, showrunner Jenny Bicks recalled
in a recent op-ed published by Variety. Bicks praised Heche as a, quote, "showrunner's dream"
and addressed claims that Heche was crazed and unreliable professionally head-on. She wrote,
"None of those things was ever true. [Heche] was a joy to work with as an
actor ... there was no version of her that was flippant or lazy."
Heche didn't beat about the bush when discussing her history of mental illness, which she believed
stemmed from the sexual abuse she experienced as a child. She told The Advocate in 2001,
"Well, look at me, I went crazy! I didn't talk to anybody about it;
I escaped into my fantasy world; I became an actress."
The actor told Barbara Walters that same year,
"It's a crazy life. I was raised in a crazy family,
and it took 31 years to get the crazy out of me."
Heche's comments in the early aughts didn't do her any favors, and unfortunately,
her reputation for being "crazy" would precede her for the remainder of her career.