Ellen Degeneres and Portia de Rossi are probably one of the most iconic couples in the world. They live in the spotlight, and pretty much everyone knows their names. Despite this, they do tend to (understandably) keep their personal lives private. No one wants to be airing their dirty laundry in public, especially when it comes to relationships. But from the outside looking in, this seems like a marriage full of love and caring, and we're sure that they'll stay together for many more years — probably for the rest of their lives.
But what really goes on inside this relationship? Try as they might to keep all of the little details a secret, eventually, things do come out — and it's usually a result of interviews and comments from the celebrities themselves. While this marriage has one of the cleanest images of all celebrity couples, they're not totally without a little controversy here and there. Some would say that the very fact that they're married is controversial, seeing as they are a lesbian couple. But there's a lot more than meets the eye when it comes to Ellen Degeneres and Portia de Rossi, and here are some revealing truths that might have slipped under your radar...
15 Portia Kept Her Preferences Secret For A Long Time
Perhaps one of the hardest things for Portia de Rossi and Ellen Degeneres was that it took a very long time for Portia to accept who she was deep inside, and in particular who she was really attracted to. As she admits in an interview, she tried to hide her true self and the fact that she was attracted to women.
Those days are all behind her now, but the fact that Portia felt like she had to do that in order to fit-in was probably a hard thing to battle.
In an interview quoted by Access Online, Portia admitted: “Having to hide something like that just ruined me. It really, really killed me. I had always really loved men — and still do — and just kind of assumed that I would be straight. I think everybody assumes that you’re gonna be [straight]. And the thing that made me think that I wasn’t, was I developed very strong feelings for my best friends. I had a series of mini-heartbreaks throughout my teens because my fantasy of what life could be like with my best friend wasn’t shared with my best friend."
Portia continues: “My best friend wanted to get married to a man and have kids and I just wanted to be with them, and that’s when I thought something was definitely different about me. But really it took me until I was about 18 when I realized I had to date other lesbians if I was ever going to fulfill that fantasy.”
14 There Have Been Rumors Of Trouble In The Relationship
It seems like throughout their marriage, Portia and Ellen have been plagued by a never-ending stream of gossip that suggests their marriage is on its last legs. These rumors have popped up again and again for many years now, with the first stories beginning around 2014. Although the couple has routinely denied anything even resembling a breakup, the rumors continue to swirl.
But are any of them true? It's hard to say. A string of articles in 2017 claimed that the couple was headed for divorce, and it seems that the story went viral. Closer Weekly claimed in that year that the couple was definitely on the verge of breaking up, and quoted "insiders that backed up their claims. New Idea posted a similar article during this time, claiming that the divorce would be worth $400 million. Finally, In Touch Weekly made similar claims in 2017, suggesting that the couple were "on the verge" of ending their relationship.
But here's the catch — 2018 has come by, and the pair is still together. Unless these "insiders" know something we don't, it seems as though the entire thing was just fake news. But still, often there is some truth to rumors of this magnitude...
13 Portia Once Suffered From Body Image Issues
Another sad detail about Portia's past life is that she admitted she suffered from issues pertaining to her body image and self-confidence, and it started to really affect her feeling of self-worth.
This all came from working as a model when she was young, and there were many bad experiences from that time in her life.
In an interview quoted by People, Portia admitted that she starved herself before a fashion show when she was very young. She stated: “I didn’t eat for 10 days before then. I’m up on this catwalk, and I’m a little kid and posing and trying to be [beautiful] and strutting around and all the other models are making fun of my bushy eyebrows. When I got in the car after that event and just opened up a bag of my favorite candy and just put my whole head in it and I think, ‘[...] what have I done? I just undid two weeks worth of dieting.’ So then I [got sick].”
In an excerpt from her book, as quoted in an article by ABC News, Portia wrote: "From that age I learned that what I looked like was more important than what I thought, what I did and who I was. I think when your self-esteem is based on how you look, you're always going to be insecure. There's always a fresher face, a thinner girl. I had to diet to be professional, to make sure that I kept working."
12 They're Not Planning To Have Kids
So many couples are choosing not to have children these days, and Ellen and Portia are just one example. They have decided they're never going to have kids, and their family will remain just the two of them for the rest of their lives. It's a decision that just makes sense for this famous couple.
The Daily Mail published an article detailing the fact that the couple does not want children. Ellen said: "We talked about it for a minute, about four years into the relationship, but we just decided we like our conversations not being interrupted and our furniture without sticky grape juice on it. It seems like a commitment that you have to stick with. And I just don't know if I can — it's too risky. Like, what if I don't like the kid? What if it turns out that it's not as cute as I wanted or as talented? I'm gonna compare it to all these kids that I have on this show that are so smart and so funny."
Portia was quoted in the same article as saying: "There comes some pressure in your mid-30s, and you think, 'am I going to have kids so I don't miss out on something that other people really seem to love? Or is it that I really genuinely want to do this with my whole heart?' I didn't feel that my response was 'yes' to the latter. You have to really want to have kids, and neither of us did."
11 They Were Affected By The California Wildfires
Even though Ellen has a wonderful life and lives in an incredible mansion on the hills of California, it's clear that even Mother Nature can affect the lives of even the richest celebrities in the world. Ellen's home in Montecito was threatened by the biggest fires in Californian history, and eventually, she had to evacuate herself and all of her pets. It must have been a pretty serious event in her life.
Speaking about the harrowing event, Ellen revealed how they were dealing with it all, as quoted by E! News: "We'll just lay low and just, you know, be grateful for having our pets with us and Portia's horses are evacuated and we're hoping to get them someplace soon and it's, you know, it takes something like this to just remember, you know, just how fragile life is, and how you should never take anything for granted. I'll be counting my blessings for Christmas."
In the end, Ellen was gracious enough to tweet out her thanks to the brave firefighters and volunteers who helped fight the fires, and that was pretty well-received by the public.
It just goes to show that even though Ellen and Portia have built a wonderful life for themselves, anything can happen, and it can all come tumbling down.
10 They Promised To Never Lie To Each Other
Ellen Degeneres and Portia de Rossi have been together for some time now, and they have had more than enough time to lay down some ground rules for their marriage. While some married couples seem to play it by ear, a lot of spouses actually sit down with each other and establish some rules that they base their relationship around, and as it turns out, the marriage between Portia and Ellen is one of those relationships.
In an interview with ET Online, Portia revealed one of the marriage's rules, explaining that they never, ever lie to each other. She stated: "We're just really good friends and we talk about everything, and we never ever, ever lie to each other, like, not even the tiniest lies. And she's the only person I want to hang out with. Like, she is my best friend and I just want to be with her all the time. She's just so awesome! Who wouldn't want to be with Ellen all the time?"
We think the whole "no lies" rule is a great idea, not just for marriages but for life in general. You could argue that certain moments merit "little white lies," but in the end, it's always good to be honest. Who needs to be carrying that guilt around on their shoulders, anyway? It's clear that Portia and Ellen have made a great choice by laying down this basic ground rule in their marriage.
9 They Don't Give Each Other Presents On Special Days
These days, so many people are obsessed with giving each other presents, and it seems like Christmas, Valentine's, and birthdays have all become quite materialistic. That's why it's so refreshing to hear that Ellen and Portia have taken a completely unique approach to the routine of gift-giving in their relationship...
In an interview with E! News, Ellen revealed: "We do so many presents all the time. We don't even give each other presents for Christmas or birthdays anymore. We have everything. Love and respect — that is all we need. We don't really need to make it 'work,' We just found the right person. It's corny, but she's my soul mate. She's my everything to me and I don't know what I'd do without her."
Portia de Rossi immediately chimed in and said: "There it is — that's my Valentine's Day gift."
That's right, they don't even really give each other gifts anymore — not even on Christmas or Valentine's! How refreshing. It seems like they sometimes do give gifts, but they do it on random days, and they don't have to wait until some special day designated as a "gift-giving day" by society. This is really interesting, and it makes you think about the world we live in.
8 They Were Not Legally Allowed To Marry In California For Some Time
Even though Ellen Degeneres and Portia de Rossi are now happily married, it took them a while to tie the knot. But this wasn't necessarily because the two women were apprehensive or cautious about getting married, it was because they legally could not wed. This was due to the gay marriage laws in California at the time, and the two were only able to get legally married when the decision was reversed by law. Just imagine being prevented from marrying the person you love...
Reuters reported that the couple had to wait 4 years before a court ruling in California allowed them to finally get married. Ellen was quoted by Reuters, saying at the time of her marriage announcement: “It is something of course that we have wanted to do and we wanted to be legal, and we are just very, very excited."
In the years following, the couple has been outspoken on the topic of gay marriages. Huffington Post quoted Portia de Rossi as saying: "Gay marriage is the idea whose time has come ... If there weren’t such a strong debate, it wouldn’t actually ever get done. So I welcome the strong debate. I welcome people really hashing it out and thinking about it and talking about it because it really is the last civil rights issue that we’re going to have to deal with in our country.”
7 Portia Was Once Married To A Man
Portia de Rossi has had quite an interesting life, and although she's very settled with Ellen Degeneres now, she has had a past which has involved a marriage to a man — Mel Metcalfe. Looking back, Portia realizes that she was living a lie, and both parties now realize that it wasn't meant to be.
It took so long for Portia to accept that she was not the person she wanted to be, but when she did, she realized that Ellen was the only one for her.
Your Tango quoted Portia de Rossi as saying about her ex-husband: "By the end of our first year together, despite my desire to be attracted to him, my latent fear of my real sexuality was simmering and about to boil. I was almost positive I was gay. So I married him."
And Mel Metcalfe wasn't the best of husbands, either. Portia recounts how he left her for her brother's wife, Renee, destroying both siblings' marriages. As quoted by the Huffington Post, Portia recalled: “The fact that Renee would wear skimpy, lacy underwear clearly visible underneath her oversized, gaping overalls should have indicated to my brother and me that a personal partnership was also forming, but when Mel left me and Renee suddenly sabotaged her marriage to my brother to be with Mel, Brother and I were left idiotically scratching our heads in disbelief.”
6 Ellen Once Dated Anne Heche
People are quick to forget that Ellen Degeneres, like Portia de Rossi, has had some pretty serious relationships in the past as well. Anne Heche was Ellen's biggest past relationship, and that was the first woman she was involved with after coming out. It seems so long ago now, but it did in fact happen, and it was a major part of Ellen's life. It's not something she can easily forget about.
Speaking about her past relationship with Anne Heche, Ellen Degeneres was quoted by the LA Times as saying: "There is something that you learn when you have a broken heart. Not that I didn't cherish love before but I really treasure it now, I really understand how hard it is to find. I think being the person I am now, if I met [Anne] tomorrow I probably wouldn't be with her. But I was a different person then, and I've learned a whole lot."
So how is their relationship now? There's been a lot of speculation about how Anne Heche and Ellen Degeneres get along these days. Some say that they're still quite close, while others, such as Celebrity Insider, claims that the two are not friendly towards each other. The article even goes as far as to claim that Ellen refuses to have Anne Heche on her show, and does not want to talk to her.
5 Ellen Sent Out A Controversial Tweet To Katy Perry
We all know that disrespecting women is a huge problem in the entertainment industry. Today we live in a time when very successful celebs are constantly being accused of mistreating and abusing women, which can lead to all kinds of devastating scandals. This kind of thing is truly running rampant in our social climate, and it's a terrible thing. And one of the most outspoken defenders of women today is none other than Ellen Degeneres.
But Ellen's position of high moral authority was thrown into question in 2017, and it all had to do with a seemingly innocent Tweet.
In this tweet, she posted the above picture of herself "ogling" Katy Perry's curves, and captioned the picture with the following birthday message for the well-known pop star: “Happy birthday, @KatyPerry! It’s time to bring out the big balloons!”
As Page Six points out, she faced massive backlash for this tweet. Many accused her of disrespecting Katy Perry and objectifying her in exactly the same way as many male celebrities have been guilty of in the last few years. Is this an example of double standards in the entertainment industry? Why is she allowed to do this, whereas other men get rightly destroyed by the media for the exact same behavior? These are just a few of the questions that were raised by other celebs, such as Piers Morgan, as Page Six reports.
4 They Both Went Vegan
Both Ellen Degeneres and Portia de Rossi have become Vegan over the last few years, and we couldn't be happier for them. They're also happy about their new diet, and it doesn't look like it's a lifestyle choice that will change anytime soon. PETA even recognized Ellen and Portia for their stance on animal rights, which is something they should really be proud of.
Ecorazzi posted a quote from Ellen explaining how easy it is to be Vegan, and she said: “I’ve found that you can have pizza without cheese and it’s delicious, because the cheese is so heavy and it fills you up and until you know the difference you really think ‘Oh well that’s all that pizza is.’ Once you have it with just tomato sauce and just vegetables and just things there’s more room for cocktails. You can drink more."
Portia has also written about the switch in her book, and an excerpt was posted by Oprah: "I started crying and thought, I can't possibly keep eating these animals. Before that moment, I wouldn't have fathomed cows doing something like that. I was forced to confront the fact that I had chosen to remain ignorant of their nature because it was just easier that way. That evening Ellen and I went to dinner at our favorite restaurant, where I often ordered the spaghetti Bolognese. I almost asked for it out of habit. But then I realized I had actually changed. I had no appetite for meat sauce. Giving up beef wasn't just some fleeting idea. Over the next year, I stopped eating all animals and animal products."
3 Ellen Was Poor Growing Up
While Portia certainly had some issues growing up, Ellen definitely didn't have an easy ride either. In fact, Ellen has spoken out numerous times about her difficult upbringing, and the fact that she was poor. This frustrated her, but it also gave her a new perspective on life which she still adheres to today.
Ellen's never let money dictate her life, turning an unfortunate financial situation into a strength.
In an interview quoted by Yahoo, Ellen stated: "I was poor growing up. We never owned a house when I was growing up. We rented, and we moved about every two years, just far enough to have to start at a new school. My mother was a real estate agent for a little while, so I was always looking at houses with her. We couldn't afford to buy one, so it was a frustrating thing as a kid. You're imagining, 'This is going to be my room,' and then it was like, 'Oh, we can't afford it.'"
In an interview with Good House Keeping, Ellen also revealed details about her turbulent childhood. She stated: "When my parents divorced, it was my mother and me, by ourselves in an apartment. At that point, we kind of became roommates. I was 13 years old. She'd been married for almost 20 years, and I watched her go through a tough time, trying to date, trying to figure things out. She dated some horrible men whom I had to kick out of the house. So, at 13, I kind of became an adult and was taking care of...watching her struggle. It made me go, Oh, you're my mom, but you're just a human being. I saw her in a different role all of a sudden."
2 They Admit It Was Love At First Sight
One thing's for sure: it is genuine love that these two women share. In a world full of fake and disingenuine celebrity relationships, Ellen and Portia have something real, which is very rare and an endearing thing to see in the media. It was one of those fairytale stories of love-a-first-sight.
Portia stated in an interview quoted by Country Living that she knew Ellen was the one the minute she laid eyes on her. She said, "[I knew Ellen was the one] when I first laid eyes on her, 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."
Ellen talked about their deep bond in the same interview, saying: "Portia and I constantly say to each other, 'We are so lucky. Sometimes it's lying in bed at night before I go to sleep, and I just say thank you to whatever, whoever is out there. I've gotten to a place where I really am just settled. Really. I know that I'm not going anywhere. She's not going anywhere. I'm not saying the relationship took a while; I'm saying in my life, it took a while to find this."
1 They Say The Breakup Rumors Are All False
If you've been keeping tabs on this relationship, you know that breakup rumors seem to follow this couple around everywhere they go. It doesn't even make much sense, given the fact that both partners have been denying the gossip about them for years.
Even though there have been rumors that the marriage is a little rocky, as we previously touched on, you shouldn't hold your breath waiting for these two to call it quits.
Ellen addressed the rumors on Howard Stern's radio show, as quoted by Country Living, saying: "I don't know why they do this. 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." She was also quoted by E! Online as saying: "I've gotten to a place where I really am just settled. Really. I know that I'm not going anywhere. She's not going anywhere".
She also addressed rumors back in 2014, as quoted by Women's Health, saying: "The tabloids had a photo of Portia not wearing her wedding ring... She goes, 'I didn't wear it because when I ride horses and I'm holding the reins, it gives me a blister!' … The truth is, and this is corny, I fall more in love with Portia all the time. I really do. She surprises me all the time. It's what anyone experiences when you find that person that gets you, wants to take care of you, wants the best for you. We're really lucky because we know how rare it is."
References: accessonline.com, abcnews.go.com, people.com, dailymail.co.uk, goodhousekeeping.com, uk.finance.yahoo.com, countryliving.com, etonline.com, etonline.com, oprah.com, ecorazzi.com, eonline.com, womenshealthmag.com, intouchweekly.com, newidea.com, closerweekly.com, huffingtonpost.ca, reuters.com, countryliving.com, pagesix.com, latimes.com, celebrityinsider.com, huffingtonpost.com, yourtango.com,
