Ellen DeGeneres Celebrates 20th Anniversary with Portia de Rossi After Move to England: 'What a Long Beautiful Adventure'

Mar. 15, 2025

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi in a new selfie.Photo:Ellen Degeneres/Instagram

Ellen Degeneres/Instagram

Ellen DeGeneresis celebrating two decades with wifePortia de Rossifollowing their move to the English countryside.

Alongside the photo, which shows the longtime couple cozying up to each other in the countryside, the comedian also shared a heartfelt tribute for de Rossi, writing a sweet message about the past, present and future of their relationship.

“20 years ago today we began this relationship not realizing what a long beautiful adventure this would be,” she began the caption of the Dec. 1Instagram post. “You are the best thing that ever happened in my life. You take care of me. You help me see the good in everything. You help to guide me and pick me up when I feel off or down.”

“You are a beautiful soul that I am so very grateful to have as a partner to navigate this crazy life with,” DeGeneres continued. “My wife. My best friend. The love of my life. Thank you for being you and loving me. So happy we get to travel and explore the world together in the next 20 years, and looking forward to our first snowy Christmas.”

And, referring to the heavy rain that Storm Bert recently brought to the U.K., she added: “P.S. for those of you concerned, our UK farmhouse did NOT flood.”

De Rossi, who does not post frequently on social media, did not mark the couple’s milestone on social media — though her most recent Instagram post, shared in January,was a sweet birthday tribute to DeGeneres.

Ellen DeGeneres (left) and Portia de Rossi in 2022.Kelly Sullivan/Getty

Kelly Sullivan/Getty

The couple’s decades together can be traced all the way back to 2001, when theymet backstageat a concert.

“I remember thinking that she [DeGeneres] was the coolest, most fascinating, beautiful, funniest person I’d ever met,” de Rossi recalled to PEOPLE in 2021. “But I, at the time, was closeted; I really wasn’t comfortable with my sexuality. I just knew that being with her would be a bit of a thing for me, so we didn’t get together after that for about three years.”

After reconnecting at the the VH1 Big in ‘04 Awards, the pair struck up a romance. “We saw each other and started talking, and that was it,” DeGeneres told PEOPLE. “She opened up and said she’d been thinking about me. And it surprised me. It was a big deal for her to be seen with me.”

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Portia de Rossi (left) and Ellen DeGeneres at the 2005 Golden Globes.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

The pair quickly became one of the highest-profile LGBTQ couples, andtied the knotin August 2008 after same-sex marriage was legalized in California. De Rossi gives full credit to her comedian wife — whovery publicly came outin 2001 — for helping her realize that there is “nothing wrong with being gay.”

“I think that’s the first time in my life I felt that was true,” she added.

source: people.com