Glaring Red Flags In Ellen DeGeneres' Marriage With Portia De Rossi

Though she tried to make light of the situation, there's almost no denying that Ellen DeGeneres' biggest scandal — which centered around allegations that she fostered a toxic work environment on the set of her talk show — left a permanent stain on her reputation. And although the bulk of the controversy itself happened in 2020, the fallout continued after the fact, including the end of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in 2022. New alleged details even came to light in as recently as August 2025, highlighting what may be just one of several possible red flags in DeGeneres' relationship with wife Portia de Rossi.

While it's easy to point out the age gap between DeGeneres and de Rossi as being potentially eyebrow-raising (DeGeneres is 15 years older), something that's arguably a far worse look in a relationship is excessive jealousy. An according to an anonymous source identified by the Daily Mail as a former "Ellen" cameraman, so much as speaking to de Rossi was a good way to end up on the comedian's bad side. "Portia was nice, she would say 'hi.' But Ellen ... if she didn't know you, she would ask about you," the source told the outlet, adding, "You just hoped and prayed you weren't seated by her wife, so you didn't get her attention. You wanted to avoid looking into what we called the 'Ellen gaze.' If she stayed looking at you, that was bad."

While Portia de Rossi came to wife Ellen DeGeneres' defense amid the latter's public scandals, the 2025 Daily Mail report wasn't the first time it came to light that things might be somewhat tense in the couple's household. In fact, an anonymous source claimed to InTouch Weekly all the way back in 2016 that the two were on the road to splitsville. The insider attributed this to larger issues in DeGeneres' life — namely, the stress of maintaining her incredibly lavish lifestyle. "Wealth and power have turned her into an angry and difficult person. If she had her way, Ellen would spend her time traveling and working for charitable causes. But she's trapped and she's constantly fretting over her ever-growing empire." a source explained.

DeGeneres and de Rossi maintained a united front on the matter, and honestly did so rather gracefully. Around the same time as InTouch's report, DeGeneres brushed off divorce chatter during an interview with People. "I can't imagine not being married. I have my best friend, the person I want to spend time with more than anybody else in the world," she said at the time. Two years later, de Rossi all but welcomed the rumors, telling Us Weekly that she saw it as a sign that same-sex couples were becoming more normalized.