Melanie Leis | Is She Kelly McGillis Ex-Wife?

Melanie Leis is the ex-partner of actress Kelly McGillis, who starred in Top Gun. Leis and McGillis were companions during the years 2010 and 2011. The two had been acquainted since the turn of the century.

Kelly has been with Melanie Leis the longest since her divorce from ex-husband Fred Tillman. The relationship was difficult for both Melanie and McGillis, as McGillis feared coming out as a lesbian.

Determine how they made it work and what lead to their breakup. Read all about McGillis’s ex-girlfriend Melanie, including her life before meeting the Hollywood icon and her post-separation endeavors.

Melanie Leis Is A Sales Executive And A Music Festival Agent

Leis’s birth year is 1967. She is a sales representative by trade. In 2010, Ms. Leis worked in Philadelphia as a regional sales executive for Independence Communications, a provider of Muzak for businesses.

She graduated from the Arts, Music Production, and Performance programs at the Berklee College of Music. New Burry College also awarded Kelly’s ex-boyfriend an associate’s degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management. She is a member of the International Ticketing Association, as well.

Leis, who is a musician herself, has seen James Taylor perform more than thirty times. Melanie is also proficient with one or two instruments; she began playing the piano at age six and later excelled at playing the drums.

Melanie Leis possesses an impressive work history.

Leis was the retail manager for Cingular Wireless (AT&T) between September 2001 and July 2003. From February 2004 to January 2008, she worked as a district sales manager for PC Management. Leis then began working for Sovereign Bank as a portfolio specialist, remaining there until May 2009.

In July 2009, Melanie was once again promoted to the position of District Sales Manager, this time for Simply Wireless/Mobile Now. She left the company in January 2010 to join Retail Business Development as a market launch team DM.

Leis would become RSM for Independence Communications, Inc. once more. Her next position would be in the sales and development department at Broadview Networks.

A year later, McGillis’ ex-partner assumed responsibility for All Covered Inc.’s business development. Additionally, she has worked for the Society of Adults, Vendini, PD Corp, and Tappit. Leis joined the latter organization in July 2021 and has since served as its vice president.

In the interim, she has also participated in volunteer efforts for Houston Hurricane and Haiti Orphanage.

Melanie Leis And Kelly McGillis Met At The Latter’s Bar; Leis There Was A Bartender

In September 2010, Leis entered into a civil union with McGillis. She and McGillis met in a Florida restaurant where the former worked as a hostess.

In a September 2010 interview with the New York Times, Ms. Leis described her first encounter with McGillis. The ticketing agent stated it was the year 2000 and they were at Kelly’s, the establishment in Key West, Florida that McGillis co-owned with her second husband, Fred Tillman.

“I began working at the restaurant while Kell was away filming a movie. When I glanced up one day, there she was. I did not see her from across the room or elsewhere.”

Leis explained that she did not consider McGillis to be a cinema star when she first saw her. She stated that it was the actress’ presence, not her professional image, but her sense of humor that “absolutely grabbed me.”

Soon after meeting in a pub, Leis and the California-born actor joined a group celebrating a friend’s birthday. McGillis, Leis’s erstwhile partner, recalled how they began talking and he was immediately smitten with her.

Melanie Leis and Kelly McGillis began drinking and using drugs concurrently.

They began dating shortly after sparking a romance between them, but soon fell into a destructive pattern. Leis claimed they were criminal companions who drank and abused drugs.

In 2001, when they were living together in Mohnton, Pennsylvania, Leis described how difficult the time was for them, as they were both newly sober and learning to live differently. Throughout their nearly decade-long relationship, McGillis consistently performed in regional theater and television, including episodes of “The L Word.” She did not, however, discuss the relationship in public.

The James Taylor fan believes that she and her ex-spouse never even posed for a photograph. Despite her admission that she has always been overtly gay, this occurred. The former sales executive stated that she comprehended and respected Kelly’s desire for privacy. ‘McGillis had warned Leis against touching her in public.

McGillis, Leis’s ex-girlfriend, only came out as a lesbian in 2009, despite once claiming to have been a lesbian her entire existence. Since high school, the now-64-year-old actress confessed she has found girls attractive, but she was “horrified” because “that wasn’t right.”

Due to her relationship with Melanie Leis, Kelly McGillis’ children suffered.

The move from Key West to Mohnton, according to Leis and her ex-husband, presented unique challenges for McGillis’s two daughters. The reason for this was because their new location was quite conservative.

The actress from Top Gun explained,

My children have always been very accepting, whereas their peers and the parents of their peers were less so.

She disclosed that her children suffered greatly as a result of her relationship with Mell, which greatly distressed her. Therefore, McGillis never chose to discuss it. That was the case until February 2009, when she told SheWired, “I’m done with the man thing.”

With her daughters grown and out of the home, McGillis determined she did not need to protect anyone by evading the question and decided to be completely forthright. Ironically, she and Leis were no longer together at this point.

They had mutually declared that the relationship “was no longer working” and ended it months earlier. McGillis reasoned that they had grown and changed at distinct rates and at various times. She explained that while she had always wanted to be with Mell, she could not stay with Leis unless she was willing to work on herself.

Melanie Leis was devastated by her breakup with McGillis; she tried to reconcile.

Leis characterized his breakup with McGillis as “the absolute worst time of my life.” The ex-girlfriend of the actress stated that she had been sober for six years and that the breakup brought her to a new low. Leis acknowledged that her problems arose from her unwillingness to “honestly examine, confront, and address my core issues.”

The sales executive recalled the time she attempted reconciliation with McGillis while also addressing her own problems. The Golden Globe nominee had already moved into her new Collingswood residence, which Leis would visit.

However, McGillis stated that for a time she questioned whether “I could trust her again in my life.”

Eventually, the actress concluded that she missed Leis and “her generosity of spirit,” and was still in love with her. Eventually, they began courting again.

Melanie Leis And Kelly McGillis Married In September 2010

Leis proposed to the Made in Heaven star during their second opportunity to be together. The McGillis actress consented, but only on the condition that they continue their relationship to see if it works.

And so it was. Then, on September 15, 2010, Wednesday morning, they took a new step when Ms. Leis and Ms. McGillis entered the Collingswood Municipal Court chambers of Judge Robert T. Zane III. In front of eleven of their acquaintances, including Gillis’ ex-husband, Mr. Tillman, they exchanged vows.

Leis, a former bartender, and McGillis, a Hollywood actor, wed in a small community in southern New Jersey. This individual had been sober for some time.

After the ceremony, the guests and newlyweds stepped out into the September sunlight and made their way to the Pop Shop, a retro 1950s diner.

A short time later, the couple bid their guests farewell and reminded them of the upcoming Christmas wedding reception. The couple posed for photographers in front of their black Mini Cooper after leaving the diner.

Eventually, Leis and McGillis split up in 2011, and it is unknown whether the actress or her ex-partner is courting someone else.

Melanie Leis’ Ex-Partner Was Attacked Once Again

The ex-partner of Leis had not had an easy existence, from childhood to adulthood to retirement. McGillis has disclosed in a series of interviews that her parents threw her out at the age of 17, that she was a rape victim, that she was stigmatized for coming out, and that she abused substances. All of these had become ancient lore, but she was destined to face a similar challenge once more.

In June of 2017, an Illinois woman named Laurence Maurie Dorn broke into the Edneyville residence of Leis’ ex-wife, McGillis. A jury subsequently convicted the woman of misdemeanor breaking and entering, and the court sentenced her to 18 months of probation.

Where Does Melanie Leis Live Now?

Currently residing in Boston, Massachusetts, Leis is currently engaged in ticketing and music festival work. In the meantime, McGillis’ ex-girlfriend promotes various fundraising programs on Facebook.
How much is she worth?

Melanie Leis’ estimated net worth in 2023 is around $600,000. Similarly, her estimated salary is approximately $50,000, according to reports.

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