Anne Heche's teenage son pays public tribute to 'bright' mom for the first time
Anne Heche's 13-year-old son has remembered the late actress as the "brightest person [he has] ever known".
The 'Men in Trees' actress died last August due to injuries she sustained in a car accident and her youngest son Atlas has now reflected on her passing for the first time.
He said in a statement to the Los Angeles Inquisitor magazine: "My mom was the brightest person I've ever known.
"She always knew how to solve a problem, or help a friend. She always knew the right thing to do. I cannot put into words how grateful I am or how much I miss her."
Meanwhile, Atlas' father, James Tupper - who dated Anne from 2007 to 2018 - revealed the teenager has taken up tennis and is being supported through his grief by his friends.
He told People magazine: "Atlas has taken up tennis so he plays like two to three hours a day, and I think that's creating a real nice balance.
"[Atlas] has really good friends. So keeping these things carefully in balance, that's how we're getting through grief."
The 57-year-old actor admitted the months since Anne passed away have been "very, very difficult" but having lost his own mother when he was young, he hopes he's been a good source of support for Atlas.
He said: "I want to say that I'm doing great, but it's been a very, very difficult time. A very big transition and spending time with my boy and looking after him, that's basically been my whole focus.
"It's very difficult whenever you lose a parent like that. Your whole world switches inside out, and I think kids experience trauma in a way that adults don't. Adults have a context to put it in, but kids do not. You want to bury it, you want to forget about it and move past it.
"I happened to have lost my mom, too, when I was very, very young. So I kind of understand what he's going through."
James acknowledged "grief is a difficult thing" and that "it comes in waves," admitting there have been occasions that he's been "so upset" over the death of his former partner - who also had 20-year-old son Homer with former partner Coley Laffoon - he's had to pull over while driving.
He added: "This shock that she's gone now — someone that you really loved and really knew very, very well... [It's] impossible to get over quickly."
