Melanie Leis Said Yes to Becoming Kelly McGillis' Wife in 2010

Award-winning actress Kelly McGillis, best known for her roles in "Witness" and "The Accused," married Melanie Leis in 2010, even though they had first met in 2000.

In 2010, one of the most influential and beautiful actresses of the 80s and 90s, Kelly McGillis, married an unknown woman, Melanie Leis.

Little is known about Melanie Leis' life before and after her relationship with Kelly McGillys, their love, or what brought them together.

Actress Kelly McGillis starred in some of the most iconic films of the 80s and the 90s, like "Witness," with Harrison Ford, "Top Gun" with Tom Cruise, and "The Accused" with Academy Award winner Jodie Foster.

Before coming out as a lesbian in 2009, McGillis had been married twice. Her first husband was Boyd Black, whom she had met at Julliard and divorced in 1981.

But one of the things the two women shared was an addiction to drugs and alcohol, and it quickly spiraled out of control.

In 1989 McGillis married Fred Tillman, with whom she shares two daughters, but the relationship ended in divorce in 2002. By then, she had already met the woman who would become her third partner, Melanie Leis.

Kelly Said ‘I Have No Secrets Anymore’ on Her Special Day with Melanie

In September 2010, Kelly McGillis stood handfast with Melanie Leis before a judge in New Jersey and vowed her love. The actress declared, referring to her sexual orientation:

“I have no secrets anymore, and in some ways, that’s a relief."

The discreet and intimate ceremony, witnessed by 11 friends, including Fred Tillman, McGillis' ex-husband, ended with McGillis sobbing with joy.

It was the culmination of a nearly decade-long relationship that started in 2000 in Kelly's Caribbean Bar, Grill, and Brewery in Key West, Florida.

Melanie Met Kelly Long Before They Become a Civil Couple

Leis was a bartender at the restaurant and bar McGillis owned with her second husband in Key West, Florida. The two women started chatting at dinner and quickly became friends. Leis recalled:

"I started working at the restaurant while Kell was out of town working on a movie. One day I looked up, and there she was. I did not see her from across the room or anything like that."

But one of the things the two women shared was an addiction to drugs and alcohol, and it quickly spiraled out of control. Leis couldn't stop drinking, and McGillis called a halt to the relationship.

It took years for Leis to convince McGillis to give her a second chance. Both women were sober and working to help others through recovery when Leis proposed, and McGillis accepted. They married ten years after they met.

Melanie Supports Charitable Pursuits

Sadly, in 2011, a year after they married, their union was dissolved, and neither woman has ever spoken about their separation or its causes. McGillis and Leis' romance was over.

Leis remains committed to change and advocates for the LGBTQ community and a series of charity causes—Leis volunteers and fundraisers for organizations like World Central Kitchen, which provides meals for the homeless.

But the cause closest to her heart seems linked to animal rights. Leis often posts to encourage people to adopt rescue animals and has been appealing to the public to sign a proposal for a new law that prohibits animal abusers from owning pets.

Since her separation from Kelly McGillis, Leis seems to have been living a quiet, lowkey life, and the only celebrity she seems to cross paths with is her icon, Jennifer Lopez.