15 Lesbian Celebrities Formerly Or Still Involved With Men

Women are generally bi-curious — many lesbians have considered themselves straight before and vice versa. Many famous celebrities who have recently come out as gay were formally married to men, and several celebrities in a happy heterosexual marriage have also been in a lesbian relationship before. Some lesbians only realize their true sexuality during or after their heterosexual union, while other women just use their marriage to keep their true sexuality under wraps. Who are the 15 most famous women who are or were gay that have been married to men? You’ll be shocked about their sexual pasts!

Meredith Baxter

Meredith Baxter was most known for her role as mother in NBC TV show ‘Family Ties’, and has been through three marriages in the past with men. She was married to Michael Blodgett, David Birney and Robert Lewis Bush, before she came out of the closet on 2009. She announced on the Today show that she was gay and married her live-in partner Nancy Locke on 2013.

Portia de Rossi

Portia de Rossi is the beautiful wife of Ellen Degeneres and one of our favorite A-list lesbian couples. But do you know that Portia de Rossi was formerly married to a man?

Portia used to be married to Academy Award-nominated sound engineer and film maker Mel Metcalfe in the early 1990’s. This was until her former husband cheated on her and ran off, with none other than her own brother’s wife!

Rossi was left devastated by the event but soon discovered her true sexuality. Portia came out as gay in 2005. She has been with Ellen Degeneres since 2008.

Billie Jean King

Billie Jean King is a famous tennis player most renowned for beating Bobbie Riggs during the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ after Riggs commented and criticized women in sports. King was married to Larry King, founder of ‘World Team Tennis’ for two decades.

In 1981, Billie Jean King was the first woman professional athlete to publicly come out as lesbian, after she revealed her relationship with secretary Marilyn Barnett.

Lauren Morelli

Lauren Morelli was screenwriting for ‘Orange is the New Black’ when she realized she was gay. She had only been married to her husband for five months, and divorced her husband Steve Basilone upon discovering her sexuality. The split was reported to be amicable, and Lauren started dating OITNB star Samira Wiley, who played as Poussey on the Netflix show.

Alice Walker

Alice Walker, the author of ‘The Color Purple’ was formerly married to Jewish civil rights lawyer Melvyn Rosenman Leventhal from 1967 to 1976. The couple had one daughter together.

Walker is said to have gone out on dates with Tracy Chapman, although the two keep their relationship under wraps.

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie is in a happy marriage with Brad Pitt, who have been together for 10 years with 6 children.

Angelina Jolie has always been open about her sexuality. Before her first marriage to Billy Bob Thornton, she was in a relationship with actress and model Jenny Shimizu.

Meshell Ndegeocello

The American singer and songwriter was involved in several relationships involving both sexes. She came out lesbian and used to be in a relationship with feminist writer Rebecca Walker. Meshell is currently married to partner Alison Riley.

Ellen Degeneres

Ellen Degeneres is one of the first women in the showbiz industry to come out as gay–but did you know that she dated men before? Her first puppy love was a football player named Ben Heath. She came out in 1997 and has exclusively dated women since.

Sheryl Swoopes

The professional athlete and WNBA star was formerly married to a man from 1995-1999, but later came out as gay in 2005. She had a longtime relationship with girlfriend Alisa Scott, but in 2011 the gay couple broke up and Swoopes announced that she is now engaged to a man.

Raven-Symone

Beloved ‘That’s So Raven’ Disney star was formerly involved with her co-star ‘Lil J’ Johnathan McDaniel.

Raven-Symone has come out on the Oprah Winfrey show and publicly reveals she has a girlfriend, but doesn’t want to be labeled as gay.

Monifah

Monifah used to be in a relationship with a man to whom she had a daughter with, but the ‘R&B Divas’ star just recently identifies herself as homosexual and is now married to her longtime partner Terez

Wanda Sykes

Wanda Sykes, America’s comedienne, actress and voice artist, was in a 7-year relationship with record producer Dave Hall. The two divorced and 10 years after, she publicly announced that she was gay. A year later, Sykes married Alex Sykes.

Anne Heche

Anne Heche was the ex-girlfriend of Ellen Degeneres of three years from 1997 to 2000. Unlike most of the famous celebrities on this list, she came out as ‘straight’, after years of being ‘gay’.

She went on to marry a man, Coleman Laffoon, whom they had a child together. They divorced in 2007 and Anne Heche is with James Tupper. They also have a son together.

Julie Cypher

Julie Cypher used to be involved with Grammy award-winning artist Melissa Etheridge for ten years from 1990-2000. The two women had two children together, whose father has been revealed as musician David Crosby.

Before her lesbian relationship, Julie Cypher used to be married to Lou Diamond Philipps. After her relationship with Etheridge she is now once again involved and married to a man, Matthew Hale.

Frida Kahlo

We’d expect nothing less than a dramatic relationship from an artist, and Kahlo married, divorced and re-married painter Diego Rivera.

Kahlo was bisexual and during her relationship with Rivera, she had affairs with both men and women.