-
(#1) 2000: de Rossi Falls In Love With DeGeneres At A Party But Does Nothing Because She Isn’t Out Yet
In 2000, de Rossi met DeGeneres at a party. She was playing Nelle Porter on Ally McBeal and wasn't out at the time. But the pair had undeniable chemistry, and DeGeneres made a strong impact on de Rossi.
On meeting DeGeneres, de Rossi remembered: "I really never stopped thinking about her, because I just haven't felt that kind of energy with anyone in my life. So there's that."
-
(#2) 2001: de Rossi Begins A Semi-Public Relationship With Filmmaker Francesca Gregorini
Filmmaker Francesca Gregorini and de Rossi were together for three years until they broke up in 2004. In that time, they lived together and got engaged. de Rossi eventually broke off the relationship, however, and shortly after began dating DeGeneres.
Although Gregorini described the breakup as "harrowing," she's made peace with it:
I mean, I thought this was my life, I thought this was my wife, but apparently it's somebody else's wife, and you move on, you know? I love her deeply and I always will but it just wasn't our fate to be together, forever and ever. We were meant to be together for that point in time, and, and then not, and I think she's found a great partner for her. I think they're really well matched.
-
(#3) Mid-2004: The Pair Run Into Each Other At A Photo Shoot; Degeneres Sweeps de Rossi Off Her Feet
Shortly before their fateful meeting at the VH1 Big in '04 Awards, DeGeneres and de Rossi met at a photo shoot. de Rossi recalled feeling infatuated with DeGeneres:
She took my breath away. That had never happened to me in my life, where I saw somebody and [experienced] all of those things you hear about in songs and read about in poetry. My knees were weak. It was amazing. And it was very hard for me to get her out of my mind after that.
-
(#4) December 1, 2004: They Meet Again At The VH1 Big In '04 Awards, But de Rossi Still Isn’t Out
Although de Rossi was openly in a relationship with filmmaker Francesca Gregorini, she wasn't officially out to the media. de Rossi told the Advocate that neither confirming nor denying her sexuality was the position she took publicly:
The most important thing for me was to never, ever, ever deny it. But I didn't really have the courage to talk about it. I was thinking, Well, the people who need to know I'm gay know, and I'm somehow living by example by continuing on with my career and having a full, rich life, and I am incidentally gay, but it's not a big political platform. I justified it in so many ways.
When de Rossi met DeGeneres for the second time in 2004 at the VH1 Big in '04 Awards, the pair immediately hit it off. Friends close to de Rossi and DeGeneres said they grew intimate in a limousine and the next day broke off their relationships with their respective partners. At the time, DeGeneres was in a four-year relationship with photographer Alexandra Hedison.
-
(#5) January 16, 2005: de Rossi Comes Out; The Couple Make It Official On The Golden Globes' Red Carpet
Arrested Development, in which de Rossi plays Bluth family member Lindsay Fünke, was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2005. She and DeGeneres had been together for around a month when they decided to make their relationship public.
de Rossi says attending the red carpet together was about more than just announcing her and DeGeneres' relationship: "That was the first time we stepped out together as a couple, but, for me, it was the first time I stepped out as a gay woman, really."
-
(#6) 2005: They Move Into A Home In LA And Buy A 120-Acre Ranch
DeGeneres and de Rossi moved in together about two weeks after they got together at the VH1 Big in '04 Awards. Because de Rossi has a passion for riding horses, the pair purchased a 120-acre ranch.
-
(#7) August 2008: DeGeneres And de Rossi Marry After California Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage
After the state of California legalized gay marriage in 2008, DeGeneres and de Rossi wed. DeGeneres said of the wedding, "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."
-
(#8) 2010: de Rossi Publishes Her Autobiography, 'Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain'
de Rossi has struggled with an eating disorder for the majority of her life. In her autobiography, Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain, she says she worked out for hours on end and ate only 300 calories per day.
de Rossi said meeting DeGeneres allowed her to face her two biggest fears:
I met Ellen when I was 168 pounds and she loved me. She didn't see that I was heavy; she only saw the person inside. My two greatest fears, being fat and being gay, when realized, led to my greatest joy.
-
(#9) 2010: de Rossi Changes Her Legal Name To Portia Lee James DeGeneres (But Keeps Her Professional Name The Same)
de Rossi filed a petition to legally change her name to Portia Lee James DeGeneres in 2010. On the papers she submitted to the LA County Superior Court, she said she was changing her name to "[take] the last name of her spouse."
The actress was born under the name Amanda Lee Rogers.
-
(#10) 2014: The Couple Deny Divorce Rumors
The Inquisitr published a story claiming de Rossi was jealous of DeGeneres's close friendship with Sofia Vergara. They also reported the pair fought over de Rossi's desire to have children, and over DeGeneres being controlling in the relationship.
DeGeneres discredited the rumors, however: "I fall more in love with Portia all the time. I really do."
-
(#11) August 1, 2017: DeGeneres Drops An Adorable Instagram Post Marking Their 9th Anniversary
In 2017, on the couple's 9th wedding anniversary, DeGeneres posted a photo from her and de Rossi's wedding day. She captioned it, "Being her wife is the greatest thing I am."
-
(#12) December 2017 And January 2018: The Couple Have To Evacuate From Their Montecito Home During The Thomas Fire And Ensuing Mudslides
In January of 2018, DeGeneres made an emotional announcement on her show - she and de Rossi had to evacuate their home after mudslides struck Montecito in Santa Barbara County. The evacuation came just 10 days after they returned home from a previous evacuation for the Thomas fires that ravaged Southern California just a month prior. DeGeneres said:
I work in LA but I consider Montecito my home [...] I live there, Oprah lives there. It's not just a wealth community. It's filled with a lot of different types of people from all backgrounds [...] There are people who are missing family members. They're finding people and bodies. You hear the word mudslides and you have no idea the impact that it has. But after the largest fire in California history, it's catastrophic, it's beyond recognizable.
-
(#13) February 2018: de Rossi Gives DeGeneres A Gorilla Sanctuary For Her 60th Birthday
DeGeneres and de Rossi both adore animals. For DeGeneres' 60th birthday, de Rossi gifted her a gorilla sanctuary and wildlife fund. One of the first projects of the Ellen DeGeneres Wildlife Fund was to build the Karisoke Research Center in Rwanda for the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.
de Rossi told DeGeneres, who admired Fossey: "Ellen, you will carry on Dian's legacy by giving them a permanent home in Rwanda [...] Now, you will join Dian as a protector and champion of these amazing animals."
-
(#14) August 16, 2018: They Celebrate Their 10-Year Wedding Anniversary By Releasing An Instagram Video
For their 10th wedding anniversary, DeGeneres posted a video on Instagram highlighting special moments from the pair's wedding. It shows the couple first seeing one another in their dress and tuxedo, respectively. DeGeneres captioned it, "Ten years ago today. This was such a special day for us," accompanied by a heart emoji.
de Rossi shared the same video on her Instagram account. In a second post, she showcases a quote from their friend Wayne Dyer, who celebrated both the couple's relationship as well as the recent progress made toward marriage equality.
-
(#15) October 11, 2018: DeGeneres Celebrates National Coming Out Day With An Instagram Shot Of The Couple Kissing
On October 11, 2018, which was National Coming Out Day, DeGeneres honored the occasion by posting a photo of her and de Rossi kissing. She captioned the post, "It’s the greatest gift you could give yourself. #NationalComingOutDay."
-
(#16) December 2018: DeGeneres Surprises de Rossi On The 15th Anniversary Of Their First Date With A Plane Banner
On December 1, 2018, which marked the 15th anniversary of the couple's first date, DeGeneres surprised de Rossi with a plane carrying a banner that read "15" followed by a heart. In a video DeGeneres posted on Instagram, she jokes that she should have been more specific about the size of the banner, which is comically difficult to read from the sky.
New Random Displays Display All By Ranking
About This Tool
Portia de Rossi and Ellen DeGeneres proved that love can conquer everyone. Portia and her wife Ellen are gay icons and they have been together for 11 years. We all know that they met at a social gathering when Ellen was already a famous comedian. Portia took 3 years to tell Ellen how she felt about her, they got married after same-sex marriage is legalized in the United States.
They are brave and deserve our respect and love, Portia also said that she worried that public appearances for homosexuality would end her career during that period, but they did it. Here the random tool would introduce 16 details of their sweet relationship.
Our data comes from Ranker, If you want to participate in the ranking of items displayed on this page, please click here.