Friday, May 18, 2007

Anne Heche "Bizarre and Delusional Behavior"

Anne Heche's divorce fight escalated Thursday with her estranged husband calling her a poor parent with "bizarre and delusional behavior." Heche says her ex "resorted to lies" to get more money from her. Coley Laffoon, 33, who filed for divorce in February after a five-year marriage, is seeking at least $33,000 a month in support and primary custody of their 5-year-old son, Homer, according to a Los Angeles Superior Court filing.

"Clearly, [Heche's] anger toward me has clouded her ability to think rationally about what is in Homer's best interest," says Laffoon's papers, filed May 2 but released on Thursday. Heche, 37, countered by releasing a statement saying Laffoon has "resorted to lies with the court because Anne would not cave in to his astronomical money demands" – including what Heche said was actually $45,000 in monthly support. "For the past several years, the child's father has refused to get a job in order to contribute financially to the child's care," says the statement.

Laffoon, who says he quit a $6,000-a-year career as a video photographer to raise Homer, claims Heche earns $81,000 an episode on Men in Trees, a show that films in Vancouver, leaving her with "little time available from her busy schedule to spend time with Homer."

What's more, "[Heche] has at times exhibited bizarre and delusional behavior for which she refuses to seek professional help," the court papers say, citing as an example a time Heche called Laffoon from an airport sounding confused and not knowing where she was, then acting the next day as if nothing had happened.

Heche is now in a relationship with her co-star James Tupper, who has said their off-screen romance didn't begin until they both were single. Tupper, 41, separated from his wife late last year. Heche dated Ellen DeGeneres for several years before they broke up in 2000. In 2001, she published an autobiography, Call Me Crazy, in which she detailed her struggles with mental illness.

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