Though talkshow superstar Ellen DeGeneres has always had a certain level of celebrity, her wife Portia de Rossi often flies under the radar. Then again, that might be a good thing given the trouble Ellen's gotten into lately.
Still, fans don't know much about the pair's relationship, and they know even less about Portia's private life. And due in part to the lack of public knowledge of Portia and Ellen's relationship, fans speculate that the pair almost split at one point in their marriage.
But let's start at the beginning. Portia is a model and actress, and she made her major debut on 'Ally McBeal' in the '90s. She was even married to a guy for a while but abandoned her initial plan to use marriage to get a green card.
In 2004, after breaking up with her first public girlfriend, Portia began seeing Ellen, who then proposed in 2008. The two were married the same year.
And though their relationship is adorable in many ways, things haven't been perfect. Plus, as Portia explained in her autobiography, Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain, she has struggled with many personal demons, including anorexia and a lupus misdiagnosis.
But beyond that, de Rossi also spent time in rehab in 2014. And it's this occurrence that has fans questioning whether the couple's relationship was really as rock-solid as it seemed.
Per Daily Mail, sources reported that Portia entered a treatment facility for drugs and alcohol. This happened, sources say, after Portia and Ellen had a 'row' at their home, with Ellen calling out her wife for drinking too much.
In response, insiders stated, de Rossi said she wasn't in love with DeGeneres anymore. Other publications suggest that the couple had marital problems pre-rehab, and that they even tried couples therapy.
The sources state that Portia over-imbibed on wine and even pills. They also claimed that the couple had frequent fights that turned into screaming matches.
Of course, on her own, Portia DeRossi is worth about $50 million. So clearly, she can survive without her superstar wife. But that doesn't mean she's heading out the door.
Though in 2020, the same rumors resurfaced, claiming that Ellen and Portia were on their way toward divorce, notes Film Daily. Fans speculated that the "nice" Portia wouldn't stick around after it was revealed that her wife was so callous toward her employees and even celeb guests on her talk show.
But Portia's social media posts seem to disprove that theory; she has posted in support of her other half and seems to be standing by her partner despite the rumors.