Meet Melanie Leis, Kelly McGillis former partner: Where is she now?

Melanie Leis is the ex-partner of Top Gun actress Kelly McGillie. Leigh and McGillis were partners from 2010 to 2011. They have been dating since the early 2000s.

Melanie Leis is the longest Kelly has been with since her divorce from her ex-husband Fred Tillman. However, the relationship was not easy for both Melanie and McGillis, as the latter was afraid to come out as a lesbian.

To find out how they got on and what exactly led to their divorce. Read also all about McGillis’ ex, Melanie, her life before she met the Hollywood star, and her life after the breakup.

Melanie Leis Is A Sales Executive And A Music Festival Agent

Melanie Leis was born in 1968/1969. She is a sales manager by profession. In 2010, Ms. Leys worked as a regional sales manager in Philadelphia for Independence Communications, which supplies Muzak to businesses.

She attended Berklee College of Music, graduating with degrees in art, music production, and performing arts. The former Ms. Kelley also holds an associate degree in hotel and restaurant management from Newberry College. She is also a member of the International Ticket Association.

As a musician herself, Leisa is a big fan of James Taylor and has attended his concerts more than 30 times. Melanie also plays an instrument or two; she started playing piano when she was six and later became an accomplished drummer.

Melanie Leis Has An Impressive Work Experience

From September 2001 to July 2003, Melanie Leys worked as a retail sales manager for Cingular Wireless (AT&T). She then worked as a District Sales Manager for PC Management (from February 2004 to January 2008). Leisa then joined Sovereign Bank where she worked as a Portfolio Specialist until May 2009.

In July 2009, Melanie became Sales Manager again, this time at Simply Wireless/Mobile Now. She left the company in January 2010 and joined Retail Business Development as one of the DMs in the market implementation team.

Leis again became a sales manager at RSM Independence Communications, Inc. Her next role will be in Sales and Development at Broadview Networks.

A year later, McGillis’ former partner started managing business development at All Covered Inc. Her other jobs include the Society of Grownups, Vendini, PD Corp, and Tappit. Leisa joined the latter in July 2021 and has served as its Vice President since then.

In the meantime, she has also done volunteer work for the Houston Hurricane Relief and the Haiti Orphanage.

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

Leigh and McGillis entered into a civil partnership in September 2010. She and McGillis had met at a restaurant in Florida, where the former worked as a bartender.

After their marriage, the young couple moved to rural Pennsylvania to raise McGillis’ daughters, Sonora Tillman and Kelsey Tillman.
Throughout their relationship, Leisa and Kelly referred to each other as Mell and Kelli.

In an interview with the NY Times in September 2010, Ms. Leys recounted her first meeting with McGillis. She said that it was in 2000 and it took place at Kelly’s, a bar in Key West, Florida, which McGillie owned with her second husband, Fred Tillman.

Leigh explained that the idea that McGillis was a movie star did not play on her mind when she first saw her. She said that it was the presence of the actress, not the image of who she was professional, but her sense of humor that “absolutely blew me away”.

Soon after meeting in the bar, Leisa and the California-born actor became part of a group going to a friend’s birthday party. Recalling that time, Leisa’s ex-partner McGillis told how they started talking and she was very taken by her.

Together, Melanie And Kelly McGillis Started Drinking And Doing Drugs

Shortly after their affair broke out, they started dating but quickly fell into a destructive pattern. Leisa said that they were both partners and that they both drank and used drugs.

In 2001, when they were living together in Mohnton, Pa, Leisa recounted how challenging it was for them, at a time when they were both newly clean and trying to learn to live life differently. During their nearly decade-long relationship, McGillis worked steadily in regional theater and television, including episodes of the TV series “The L Word.” However, she did not speak publicly about the relationship.

A fan of James Taylor believes that she and her ex-spouse have never even been photographed together. This is despite the fact that she has admitted that she has always been openly gay. The former sales executive said that she respects and understands Kelly’s need for privacy. “McGillis even allegedly told Leigh not to touch her in public.

McGillis, Leigh’s ex-wife, only came out about her homosexuality in 2009, even though she had once said she had been a lesbian for most of her life. The 64-year-old actress now admitted that she had found girls attractive since high school, but that it “horrified” her because “it wasn’t right”.

Kelly McGillis’ Children Suffered Because Of Her Relationship With Melanie

Leis and her ex described that moving from Key West to Mohnton caused its own problems for McGillis’ two daughters. The reason was that their new home was a fairly conservative place.

The Top Gun actress explained,

“My kids have always been very understanding, but it was their friends and their friends’ parents that weren’t very accepting.”

She revealed that her children had suffered greatly because of her relationship with Mel and that this had bothered her a great deal. That is why McGillis has never chosen to talk about it. That was until February 2009, when she said in an interview with SheWired, ” I’ve had enough of men.”

When her daughters had grown up and left home, McGillis decided that she really didn’t need to protect anyone by skirting the issue and decided to be completely open. But ironically, by this time she and Leisa were no longer together.

Months earlier, they had both said out loud that their relationship was “no longer working” and had ended it. McGillis justified this by saying that they had changed and grown up at different times and at different rates. She explained that she had always wanted to be with Mel, but she was not prepared to stay there unless Leigh was prepared to work on herself a little.

The Breakup With McGillis Broke Melanie Leis; Melanie Tried To Reconcile

Leisa called her divorce from McGillis “the absolute worst time of my life”. The actress’s ex-wife said she was six years sober and the divorce brought her a new bottom. Leigh admitted that her problems stemmed from an unwillingness to “look honestly at my core issues, face them and deal with them”.

The sales manager recalled a time when she was trying to come to terms with McGillie while also working on her own problems. At the time, the Golden Globe Award nominee had already started living in her new home in Collingswood, where Leisa visited her.

However, McGillis said that for some time she had doubts about whether “I could trust her in my life again”.

Eventually, the actress came to the conclusion that she missed Leisa and “the generosity of her spirit” and was still in love. Eventually, they started dating again.

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Melanie And Kelly McGillis Married In September 2010

After a second chance at a relationship, Leisa proposed and got engaged to the Made In Heaven star. The McGillis actress agreed, but only on the condition that they stay engaged and see if it works out.

So they did. Then on Wednesday morning, September 15, 2010, they took a new step when Ms. Leigh and Ms. McGillis appeared in the chambers of Collingswood Municipal Court Judge Robert T. Zane III. They consummated their union in the presence of 11 friends, including Ms. Gillis’ ex-husband, Mr. Tillman.

Former bartender Leisa and Hollywood star McGillis were married in a quiet southern New Jersey town. The latter had been aloof for some time.

After the ceremony, the attendees and the newlyweds stepped out into the warm September sunshine and headed down the street to the Pop Shop, a kitschy fifties-style eatery.

Shortly afterward, the couple said goodbye to their guests and reminded them of the wedding party planned for Christmas. After leaving the eatery, the couple went to their black Mini Cooper and then posed for photographers.

Leigh and McGillis eventually split up in 2011 and it is unclear whether the actress or her former partner is dating someone else.

Melanie’s Ex-Partner Was Attacked Once Again 

It wasn’t easy for Leigh’s ex-partner from early life to adulthood and even into retirement. In several interviews, McGillis has revealed how her own parents kicked her out of home when she was just 17, how she was a rape victim, to the stigma of coming out and all the addictive substances. All of this had become a thing of the past, but she was destined to be put to the test again with a similar incident.

In June 2017, an Illinois woman named Lawrence Maury Dorn broke into the home of Leisa’s ex-girlfriend, McGillie Edneyville. The woman was later caught by police and the court sentenced her to 18 months of suspended imprisonment after a jury found her guilty of misdemeanor burglary.

Where Does Melanie Live Now?

Melanie Leys currently lives in Boston, Massachusetts, and is currently busy selling tickets and performing at music festivals. Meanwhile, McGillis’ ex-wife also advocates for various fundraising programs through her Facebook.

Quick Facts About Melanie Leis