Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi celebrate 13 years of marriage
August 16th marks the 13-year wedding anniversary for Ellen DeGeneres and Aussie actress Portia de Rossi.
The couple began dating in 2004, but met four years earlier – an encounter de Rossi claims is the night she knew her wife was the one.
"[I knew Ellen was the one] when I first laid eyes on her," de Rossi told Oprah Winfrey in 2005.
It took her three years to let DeGeneres know how she felt however, as the actress was not publicly out about her sexuality.
DeGeneres came out during an episode of her sitcom Ellen and again on the cover of TIME magazine in 1997.
Sadly, the TV host came under a lot of scrutiny and was often criticised for her open discussions on her sexuality.
DeGeneres revealed to the Associated Press back in 2017 that the public criticism almost ruined her.
“Nobody really understood how dark it got for me. I was really, really in a deep depression.
“I had never been so down in my life. I was depressed. I was broke. I felt attacked. It was everything that you just fear in life, like nobody loving you."
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which will end in 2022 after almost 20 years on air, is what would make her a global face.
When same-sex marriage was legalised in California in 2008, DeGeneres and de Rossi quickly wed in a small and incredibly intimate ceremony.
With just 21 guests, including themselves, it is a wonder how the pair managed to keep the affair so private.
DeGeneres popped the question to de Rossi with a three-carat horizontal marquise diamond ring.
It also had a claw set centre stone and pink diamond pavé set shoulders – a ring which the designer, Neil Lane, said was “one-of-a-kind”.
"Ellen wanted a ring that, like Portia, is beautiful and one-of-a-kind, so we chose a marquise diamond, set sideways, and sprinkled with pink diamonds," the designer told InStyle in 2019.
De Rossi's engagement ring, also created by Lane, is estimated to be worth US$100,000 (approx. $136,000).
DeGeneres proposed to de Rossi while they watched the goldfish they had rescued swim around in its new habitat.
Reportedly, the talk show host said, "This is a pretty romantic moment, right?" to which de Rossi replied, "Every moment with you is romantic".
The romantic situation led them to their intimate candlelit ceremony where they both said “I Do” in 2008.
The pair initially wanted a big wedding but became overwhelmed by the stress and decided on a small event at their home while surrounded by their families, pets and close friends.
"It's where our hearts are," de Rossi said at the time.
The ceremony was officiated by the late Wayne Dyer, who was a philosopher and self-help guru.
"Today we have taken a giant step forward toward the ideal that all of us, with no exceptions, are not only created equal, but we each have the unalienable right to pursue our own happiness," Dyer said on their 10-year anniversary.
"I have often said that true nobility is not about being better than anyone else, it's about being better than you used to be.
“With your exchange of vows today, you symbolise for many who have gone before you, who were forced to live their lives in quiet desperation, lurking in the shadows, that we as a people, are truly becoming better than we used to be."
On the day, DeGeneres told People that her "soul mate" made her feel like "the luckiest girl in the world."
De Rossi reportedly said “It is good to be loved. It is profound to be understood" in her vows.
"To me, that's everything. What 'I love you' really means is 'I understand you,' and she loves me for everything that I am," DeGeneres explained years later.