It’s hard to believe that Ellen DeGeneres is 56 years old, because she has a child-like exuberance that’s suited her well throughout most of her career, and it made her one of the most beloved talk show hosts of all time.

And just think, there was a time not too long ago when her career was in question because she announced to the public that she was gay.

Believe it or not that was 17 years ago, and if you remember, the controversy that followed her announcement was huge, and DeGeneres said the whole thing really took her for a loop.

“I thought everyone knew me and I didn’t think that one little adjective was going to define me,” she said in an interview with People magazine. “I didn’t have perspective for a while.”

The stand-up comedian also said that’s she’s removed from the entire experience, like it happened to somebody else. “Now I look at it as a movie that I saw that someone went through,” said DeGeneres. “And I only experience the amazing life that I have right now.”

And part of the reason her life is so amazing is because her relationship with actress Portia de Rossi is so solid, she says, and people shouldn’t believe the tabloid stories that say the two of them are on the rocks.

“The tabloids had a photo of Portia not wearing her wedding ring,” explained DeGeneres, who’s hosting this year’s Oscar Awards. “She goes, ‘I didn’t wear it because when I ride horses and I’m holding reins, it gives me a blister.'”

DeGeneres says her feelings for de Rossi are stronger now than they’ve ever been before. “The truth is, and this is corny, I fall more in love with Portia all the time. I really do,” she said.

“She surprises me all the time. It’s what anyone experiences when you find that person that gets you, wants to take care of you, wants the best for you. We’re really lucky because we know how rare it is.”

Image via Wikimedia Commons