Johnathan Schaech was once Ellen’s beard

Before she came out of the closet in a big way in 1997, Ellen DeGeneres was sometimes seen at events with a very handsome date.

He was sexy Johnathan Schaech who had just made a splash in the films How to Make An American Quilt and That Thing You Do! and whose lips I was a little bit obsessed with – especially when they kissed another guy in the 1999 Gregg Araki film Splendor.

‘My manager asked me to accompany her to events,’ Schaech revealed during an Ask Me Anything chat on Reddit on Monday.

‘She was scared people would not watch the show, her sitcom Ellen, because she was gay. It was an honor. … She’s a great example for the human race.’

DeGeneres’ character on her ABC comedy, Ellen Morgan, came out as gay at the same time DeGeneres did on the cover of Time magazine.

She paid a price with her show canceled after that season and her career taking a hit until she returned in 2003 with her wildly successful daytime talk show.

Schaech, 46, currently stars in the TV series Legends of Tomorrow and was once married to actress Christina Applegate and briefly to country singer Jana Kramer.

Schaech also revealed during the Reddit chat how family members influenced his feelings about gay people.

‘I grew up with two gay aunts and a gay uncle. My aunt died of cancer. She was a proud woman and she didn’t get proper care because she didn’t want to be away from her partner. Hospitals didn’t allow partners the same rights as a spouse.

‘When you have someone you love in your life that is gay or a lesbian it’s very clear that they deserve the same rights as anyone else. It’s not about religion.’