9 Famous Lesbians Who Were Married To Men

1. Sheryl Swoopes

Basketball legend Sheryl Swoopes separated from her husband, Eric Jackson, in 1999. In 2005, she publicly came out as gay while in a long-term relationship with former basketball player and coach Alisa “Scottie” Scott.

During an interview with OutSports that year, Swoopes said she felt “free” after coming out.

“I was telling my partner the other day, when I look at TV, I see Rosie and everyone knows, and Rosie is Rosie, and it’s not an issue anymore, ” she explained. “And I look at Ellen Degeneres and her partner, and see Ellen hosting the Emmys, and they’re on the red carpet, and it’s like, ‘Oh, there’s Ellen and her partner.’ It’s not like, ‘Oh, there’s Ellen, she’s gay….’ I see that and I want to do that. I want to be able to go to the ESPYs with my partner and walk down the red carpet and have people say, ‘Oh, there’s Sheryl and her partner,’ and be okay with it, instead of me having to pretend. I’ve taken friends and brothers to different events because I couldn’t take my partner with me. Those types of things are so important to me.”

Sadly, the couple later separated in 2011.

Years later, Swoopes’ journey took another turn. She became engaged to, and married, Chris Unclesho in July 2017, showing that love doesn’t always follow a straight line.

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2. Porsha Williams 

Porsha Williams finalized her divorce from Simon Guobadia in June 2025 after marrying him in November 2022. The split followed a very public and sometimes contentious separation that began when she filed in February 2024.

Just a few months after her divorce was finalized, she publicly introduced her girlfriend, Patrice “Sway” McKinney, in an affectionate Instagram birthday post — marking her first announced romantic relationship since her split.

In an exclusive Dec. 11 interview with PEOPLE, the Real Housewives of Atlanta star explained why she chose to go public. The mother of one said she “just wanted to continue to live” in her “truth.”

She added, “I’ve been in reality TV for 10-plus years, okay. But yes, this was definitely different for obvious reasons,” she said from the red carpet at A Year in Time in New York City, noting that this is her first public relationship with a woman.

Reflecting on her decision, Porsha explained that she didn’t want to “hide” any part of her life.

“I felt if I did hide it and it had to be caught somewhere, it just wouldn’t feel authentic,” she continued. “I want to live in my truth, and so in doing that, I have found someone who I really enjoy getting to know, and it’s been great.”

When discussing what drew her to Sway, she explained:

“I think the best thing is when you find someone that you can see yourself in, and you guys match, and everything is comfortable, it’s warm.”

She added, “You definitely want to be with someone warm who you can enjoy — and family. So I’m very blessed.”

3. Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo married fellow artist Diego Rivera on August 21, 1929. She was 22; he was 42. Her parents famously described their union as a marriage between “an elephant and a dove,” referencing their striking physical differences.

               Source: Getty

Their relationship was passionate, creative, and tumultuous. After a decade of mutual infidelities and intense arguments, they divorced in November 1939 — only to remarry on December 8, 1940, in San Francisco.

Though often remembered for her marriage, Kahlo was openly bisexual, as noted by YouTuber Jessica Kellgren-Fozard. She had well-documented affairs with both men and women, including singer Chavela Vargas, entertainer Josephine Baker, and artist Jacqueline Lamba.

Kahlo lived boldly and unapologetically, refusing to confine her love — or her art — to expectations.

4. Anne Heche and Ellen DeGeneres

The late Anne Heche was in a groundbreaking, high-profile relationship with Ellen DeGeneres from 1997 to 2000. At the time, they were considered one of Hollywood’s first “gay supercouples.”

Coming out in the public eye wasn’t easy. According to Page Six, Heche shared on Season 29 of Dancing With the Stars that meeting DeGeneres at a Vanity Fair party in 1997 changed her life “forever.”

When the couple planned to attend the premiere of her film Volcano in 1997, Heche was allegedly warned her job would be in jeopardy if she went public. She brought DeGeneres anyway — and the pair were reportedly “ushered out by security before the movie even ended.” Heche was allegedly told she was not allowed to attend her “own after-party” as her management team feared she would be pictured with Ellen.

Despite the backlash, their romance lasted three-and-a-half years. In August 2000, they announced what they described in a joint statement to PEOPLE as an “amicable” split.

Following her relationship with DeGeneres, Heche dated and married men, including Coleman Laffoon. In her posthumous memoir, Call Me Anne (2023), she reflected on her identity, writing: “Gay didn’t feel right, and neither did straight.” She often described her attraction as being to a “person instead of their gender” and once joked that “alien” might be the best fit for her sexuality.

5. Julie Cypher and Melissa Etheridge 

Director and LGBTQ+ advocate Julie Cypher divorced actor Lou Diamond Phillips in 1990 to be with singer Melissa Etheridge.

Their relationship became one of Hollywood’s first high-profile same-sex partnerships in the 1990s. Together for 12 years, they welcomed two children via artificial insemination with sperm donor David Crosby before parting ways in 2000.

In a joint statement released by Etheridge’s management company, they said:

“With the utmost love and respect for one another, we have decided to separate. As committed parents, our top priority continues to be what is in the best interest of our children. Though elements of our lives will change, our family will always remain intact.”

Cypher later remarried in 2004 to actor Matthew Hale.

6. Wanda and Alex Sykes

Wanda Sykes was married to record producer David Hall from 1991 until their divorce in 1998.

In 2008, she publicly came out as gay and married Alex Niedbalski the same year. The couple now shares twin children together.

7. Meredith Baxter

Best known for playing Elyse Keaton on Family Ties, Meredith Baxter was married three times before coming out as gay in 2009.

She was first married to Robert Lewis Bush (1966–1971), then to David Birney (1974–1989), and later to Michael Blodgett (1995–2000).

After publicly coming out, she married Nancy Locke in 2013, stepping confidently into a new chapter of her life.

8. Portia de Rossi and Ellen Degeneres

Portia de Rossi was married to Mel Metcalfe, an Academy Award-nominated sound engineer, from 1996 to 1999.

She later publicly came out as gay and, in 2008, married Ellen DeGeneres, solidifying one of Hollywood’s most recognized same-sex marriages.

9. Alice Walker 

Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple, was married to civil rights attorney Melvyn Rosenman Leventhal from 1967 to 1976. They married at a time when interracial marriage was still illegal in parts of the United States and had one daughter together, Rebecca Walker.

After their divorce, Walker had relationships with both men and women, including a largely private romance in the mid-1990s with singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman.

In a 2022 interview with Gayle King, Walker revealed it was Chapman’s voice that made her fall in love. She later wrote about their brief relationship in her memoir Gathering Blossoms Under Fire: The Journals of Alice Walker.

“It was her voice. You know there are some voices in our culture that can carry the whole culture and really make an emotional sense of it and liberate you into a deep love,” she gushed.

Unfortunately, Walker later revealed that the two no longer speak.

Love doesn’t always follow the path people expect, but for these women, choosing authenticity over appearances changed everything.

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