Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi‘s romance sparked more than two decades ago after the couple crossed paths at a party.
Four years later, romance flourished between the Aussie actress and the talk show host, and they’re now considered the most famous gay couple in Hollywood.
DeGeneres publicly came out to the world on the cover of TIME magazine in 1997 and sparked a global conversation at the time.
While de Rossi, hadn’t publicly discussed her sexual orientation at the time, she was drawn to DeGeneres and hoped the two of them would some day meet. And so they did.
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And now this week, the TV personality lifted the lid on their rock-solid romance, calling de Rossi “the best thing that ever happened to me”.
DeGeneres, 66, shared a tribute post to her wife as the actress turned 51.
“Happy birthday to my amazing wife. You are the best thing that ever happened to me. You are a gift and I’m grateful for you everyday. I’m so lucky you love me almost as much as you love horses,” DeGeneres wrote underneath a picture of her wife with a horse.
Lets take a look back at how the loved-up couple’s relationship blossomed.
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2000: DeGeneres and de Rossi meet at a party.
“[I knew Ellen was the one] when I first laid eyes on her,” de Rossi later tells Oprah Winfrey when the couple appeared on the show in 2005, “but it took me three years to actually tell her how I felt about her because I was on Ally McBeal at the time and I was not living as an openly gay person. I was closeted and very, very afraid that if I talked about being gay, it would be the end of my career. So, I wasn’t about to date the most famous lesbian in the world.”
2004: They begin dating in 2004, and are photographed backstage at the VH1 Big in ’04 Awards together.
2005: De Rossi opens up about coming out to her 98-year-old grandma and what it was like to get involved with DeGeneres.
“I had a very, very long and difficult struggle with my sexuality,” de Rossi tells the Advocate in 2005. “Just being a couple—being able to walk down a red carpet holding her hand, that’s exciting for me.
By the end of 2005, the couple move into a two-bedroom home in Los Angeles and adopt three rescue cats together.
“It’s the first time that I’ve known in every cell of my being that I’m with somebody for the rest of my life,” DeGeneres tells People in November 2005.
Earlier in the year, the women make their first public appearance at the Golden Globe Awards Party.
2008: Not long after the Supreme Court of California legalise same sex marriage, DeGeneres and de Rossi tie the knot in an intimate ceremony at their Beverly Hills estate on August 16, 2008.
Marriage “is not something we’ve ever taken for granted,” de Rossi tells People of the big day. “That we get to do this, it means a lot.”
2010: de Rossi officially changes her name. She keeps her maiden name for work purposes, but legally becomes Portia Lee James DeGeneres.
2015: The couple run into some hurdles when they’re suddenly plagued with divorce rumours, that DeGeneres addresses them in an appearance on SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show.
“I don’t know why they do this,” she tells Stern on September 10, 2015. “We’re kind of flattered. We really don’t almost break up, we don’t fight, we’re madly in love, and I guess it’s boring.”
2017: DeGeneres gushes about her wife and reminisces on a private moment from their wedding where they declared how much they fundamentally understood each other.
“Portia understands me completely. In our vows, she recited a quote — ‘It is good to be loved. It is profound to be understood’ — and to me, that’s everything. What ‘I love you’ really means is ‘I understand you,’ and she loves me for everything that I am,” DeGeneres tells Good Housekeeping in 2017.
2018: In 2018, the couple celebrate their 10-year wedding anniversary by sharing pictures and videos from their wedding day.
“Ten years ago, Wayne Dyer officiated our wedding ceremony. These words were life-changing to us then, and they mean just as much now,” DeGeneres captions one post.
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“10 years ago today, Ellen and I were married,” de Rossi writes in another. “We wanted to share Wayne Dyer’s poignant and special words with you to remind us all how far we’ve come—that we are living in a country that supports #marriageequality #waynedyer.”
In the same year, DeGeneres turns 60 years old. de Rossi gifts her a gorilla sanctuary in honour of her special birthday.
“This gift had to be really special, and it had to represent who you are and what you really care about,” de Rossi tells the Finding Dory star on her show. “Not just now, but what you’ve always cared about. What you were influenced by and what has made you the amazing person that you are today.” DeGeneres calls it “the best gift ever.”
2019: DeGeneres talks about her wife as being “fantastic” during an appearance on David Letterman’s My Next Guest Needs No Introduction.
“The divorce rumours came and then we really knew the perceptions had changed,” she tells Letterman. “I’m not kidding. I know it sounds ridiculous, but when that started happening, I thought, ‘Oh, now we’re finally accepted.’ We get the same s— as every celebrity couple.”
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2020: The couple faced more divorce rumours in March 2020 after OK suggested they were living apart during isolation for COVID-19.
“Portia wants her to retire, but Ellen refuses to ‘and is actually working more than ever. Ellen tries to appease her by giving her whatever she wants, like funding her art company and buying any home Portia falls in love with,” an insider claims.
But after a close look at de Rossi’s Instagram activity, the couple appeared to have isolated together and even engaged in some cooking and Lego building. That’s love!
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August 2020: The Aussie actress proved she’s got DeGeneres’ back no matter what.
When controversy surrounds the comedian’s talk show following allegations of a “toxic” work culture, de Rossi was the first to come to her defence.
“I stand by Ellen,” reads a note she shared on Instagram. In the caption, de Rossi also thanked fans for their support. “To all our fans….we see you. Thank you for your support. #stopbotattacks.”
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The Ellen DeGeneres Show was the subject of an internal investigation by WarnerMedia following numerous accounts from past and present employees of workplace problems.
In May 2022, The Ellen DeGeneres Show officially came to an end after 19 years.
Friends star Jennifer Aniston was a guest on the finale after being the very first guest on the show two decades ago.
“If I’ve done anything in the past 19 years, I hope I’ve inspired you to be yourself. Your true, authentic self. And if someone is brave enough to tell you who they are, be brave enough to support them, even if you don’t understand,” she said in her closing speech.
January 2023: The couple renewed their wedding vows in a surprise vow renewal.
Guests thought they were celebrating de Rossi’s 50th birthday party.
The celebration was held inside the couple’s new $US70 million ($98 million) home in Santa Barbara, California, which was reminiscent of their first wedding in 2008 where they married in the backyard of their home in LA.
Just like that ceremony, Portia walked through their home in the same billowing Zac Posen wedding dress she wore almost 15 years ago.
In the video shared on Instagram, the Ally McBeal alum could be seen carrying a bouquet of white roses as she made her way to an unsuspecting DeGeneres.
“Surprise!” she joked. “You don’t have to say anything at all but when I was thinking about what would make my birthday really special, apart from being with family and friends, it was reminding you that you’re the most important thing in the world to me.”
“I feel like we’re on a new journey … We’re setting down finally, planting roots and taking better care of ourselves and each other than ever before. I’m so excited about the future where we get to do whatever the hell we want for the rest of our lives.””I feel like we’re on a new journey … We’re setting down finally, planting roots and taking better care of ourselves and each other than ever before. I’m so excited about the future where we get to do whatever the hell we want for the rest of our lives.”