Fridae

Ellen DeGeneres has blamed intense public scrutiny as the cause of her break-up with ex-girlfriend Anne Heche last year, reported Rainbow Network.

The couple who met at an Oscar party in Hollywood in 1997 ended their relationship in August 2000.

She said that they were being watched like they were the "only lesbians on the planet" and that alone "made being together difficult". "If I weren`t the most famous lesbian in the world, no one would notice."

"We became such a target. Everyone had something to say about our relationship and we tried to space everything out and just work on our own problems, but that became harder and harder. Eventually, the problems became too much to bear."

DeGeneres said that the break-up was "the worst, most awful event in my life", and admitted that it was only her sense of humour that saved her from having a breakdown.

"I thought we were going to grow old together and we'd be there for each other for the rest of our lives."

The forty-something actress believed that the pressure was intensified by the fact that it was Heche's first lesbian relationship and that they also worked together.

DeGeneres has however acknowledged that she is now ready to start a new relationship, "I'm ready to give it all another try."