Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen DeGeneres celebrates her 56th Birthday today so we take a look back over her relationship history to mark the occasion.

In 1997, DeGeneres publicly revealed that she was a lesbian and not long after the announcement she began dating actress Anne Heche until 2000. They spoke of getting a civil union if it became legal in Vermont but went their separate ways after three years of being together.

After they broke up DeGeneres had an affair with actress/director and photographer Alexandra Hedison between 2001-2004 and they appeared on the cover of The Advocate after their separation.

She then began a romance with actress Portia De Rossi after they met backstage at an awards show. De Rossi recalls; ‘I ran into Ellen. She took my breath away. That had never happened to me in my life. I saw Ellen and my knees were weak. It was amazing. And it was very hard for me to get her out of my mind after that. Then when I saw her that night, we started talking, and that's that. When I watched Ellen come out in '97, my jaw was on the floor. I thought, there are some people who break the doors down, hold them open, and some people who walk right through.’ (IMDB)

Once same sex marriage was legalised in California, they got engaged- DeGeneres proposed with a three carat pink diamond ring and they married on the 16th August 2008 at their joint home in Beverly Hills witnessed by their mothers and just 17 guests. They have remained there since and the animal lovers now have three dogs and four cats living with them.

On 6th August Rossi filed a petition to legally change her name to Portia Less James DeGeneres and it was granted the month later.

De Rossi recalls how DeGeneres helped her to focus less on the difficulties in her life; ‘My feelings for Ellen overrode all of my fear about being out as a lesbian. I had to be with her, and I just figured I'd deal with the other stuff later. I really never stopped thinking about Ellen, because I just haven't felt that kind of energy with anyone in my life.’(IMDB)


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