We are all aware of the difficulties Ellen DeGeneres has encountered during her career. The comedian, who was formerly regarded as the loveliest lady on television, saw her reputation severely damaged in 2020 as a result of many revelations about the terrible workplace environment at her self-titled daytime chat show. The situation worsened when several horror stories appeared on social media, alleging that she was the cause of the issue.
There’s also the painfully awkward interview in which she sparred with Dakota Johnson over an invitation to a birthday party, the awkward situation in which she made Mariah Carey drink champagne to prove she wasn’t expecting, and the offensive remarks she made on-screen at the beginning of the pandemic in which she compared residing in her lavish mansion to a prison.
But the former comedy star has made headlines for shocking and significant reasons outside of the workplace as well. DeGeneres’ personal life has also had its darker times, including contentious ties with political leaders, disputes with other talk show hosts, accusations of domineering behaviour, and painful admissions about her upbringing.
Ellen DeGeneres drove her wife to the hospital after ingesting three marijuana cocktails.
Following a confession she made during an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in 2021, Ellen DeGeneres raised eyebrows. Even though she had consumed three CBD-infused cocktails, the celebrity practically acknowledged to driving while intoxicated as she recalled the evening her wife Portia de Rossi had to have an appendectomy.
DeGeneres admitted to drinking three Cam Social Tonics on the night in question, despite not typically using marijuana. Chelsea Handler, another talk show presenter, had recommended the cocktail to her. Unfortunately, de Rossi soon required medical attention. “I’m laying in bed, and I realize [Portia’s] not in bed. She’s moaning. I get out of bed, and she’s on the ground on all fours, and I said, ‘You’re not OK.’ She goes, ‘I’m OK.’ I said, ‘No, unless you’re playing Twister by yourself, you’re not OK.’ So I rushed her to the emergency room.”
DeGeneres admitted her mistake when asked about the fact that she got behind the wheel: “I did. I mean, I kicked in, like my adrenaline, because I just had to rush her there. It’s probably not safe, I shouldn’t be saying any of this.”
Ellen DeGeneres apparently refused to allow Anne Heche to ‘dress sexy’
Ellen DeGeneres’ most well-known relationship before to dating Portia de Rossi was with Anne Heche. The “Six Days, Seven Nights” actor and the talk show presenter originally connected at a Vanity Fair Oscars party and went on to date for three years. It wasn’t exactly amicable, based on statements made in the years after their breakup in 2000.
Heche used TikTok in 2021 to document her history in fashion. And there was one gown in particular that seemed to evoke memories of her romance with DeGeneres. The star commented in reference to the blue gown she wore to the Golden Globes in 1998, “Why do I look like a hippie? It’s because Ellen didn’t want me to dress sexy.”
Anne Heche and Ellen DeGeneres had a contentious breakup.
The general public was still unaware of the reasons why the once-famous pair Ellen DeGeneres and Anne Heche split up a year after they did. The talk show host turned out to be equally ignorant as the rest of us.
DeGeneres revealed that she was still finding it difficult to deal with the split in a 2001 interview with the Los Angeles Times due to the absence of closure. “She walked out the door and I haven’t spoken to her since, I don’t have the answers. I would love to have them myself. I would ask all of the questions that everyone else wants to ask … I’m left with everybody else wondering what happened. I don’t know.”
DeGeneres said that being the victim of a dump was a rare circumstance for her, as she would later meet Portia de Rossi at a Rock the Vote concert the same year: “It was the first time I ever had my heart broken. I’d always been the one to leave relationships, and I had been in long-term relationships, and it was the one time I really believed this is forever.”
Following the passing of Anne Heche, Ellen DeGeneres received criticism for seeming “cold.”
When Anne Heche passed away in August 2022 as a result of injuries she received in a Los Angeles vehicle accident, the entertainment industry went into grief. After being taken to the hospital following a car accident in Mar Vista, the “Psycho” star fell into a coma before her family made the difficult choice to remove her from life support. Naturally, the media demanded a comment from Ellen DeGeneres, Heche’s ex-girlfriend. The talk show host’s initial response, as one of Heche’s pals informed The U.S. Sun, was insufficient. They stated, “Ellen being that cold was absolutely shocking.”
Shortly after the fatal event, a photographer enquired about Heche’s condition; DeGeneres replied (via Mirror), “We’re not in touch with each other, so I wouldn’t know.” The comedian said, “I don’t want anyone to be hurt.” She had apparently not spoken to her ex since their breakup at the beginning of the century.
And after hearing the heartbreaking news that Heche had died away, DeGeneres didn’t have much else to say. The former comedy star used Twitter to express her sorrow in her lone statement over the tragedy: “This is a sad day. I’m sending Anne’s children, family and friends all of my love.”
Ellen DeGeneres ended her relationship with Alexandra Hedison in order to be with Portia de Rossi.
After her public breakup with Anne Heche at the turn of the century, Ellen DeGeneres quickly got involved with photographer Alexandra Hedison. The two dated for four years before calling it quits in 2004, and the talk show presenter is open about the fact that her love for another lady is what brought the relationship to an end.
Additionally complicating matters was the fact that the stated woman, actress Portia de Rossi, was also romantically linked to screenwriter Francesca Gregorini. DeGeneres discussed her early friendship with de Rossi in an interview with People, saying, “She had a girlfriend and I had a girlfriend, but it wasn’t like, ‘Oh, we’re going to have an affair. We were just supposed to be together. It was a tough decision. I was physically getting sick because I was trying not to say anything. So I told Alex and she told Francesca. It was really hard to uproot everything.”
Fortunately, everything worked out perfectly for everyone. The marriage of DeGeneres and de Rossi took place in 2008; Hedison married Hollywood star Jodie Foster six years later; and Gregorini has been dating producer Morgan Marling since 2014