Portia de Rossi Confronts Those Nonstop Ellen DeGeneres Divorce Rumors

Portia de Rossi is almost glad that she and wife Ellen DeGeneres are oft the subject of divorce rumors, because if nothing else, she says, it means that Americans have at the very least accepted gay marriage.

Portia (real name: Amanda Lee Rogers) sat down for an extensive interview with Us Magazine, and the topic of the persistent divorced rumors — as well as pregnancy rumors, of course — dominated the conversation.

Portia and Ellen tied the knot on August 16, 2008. And from August 17, 2008, rumors have been swirling that the two are going to get divorced. But at least being subject to the same rumors that bedevil straight celebrity couples means that their marriage is accepted.

“The divorce rumors came and then we really knew the perceptions had changed. I’m not kidding. I know it sounds ridiculous, but when that started happening I thought, ‘Oh, now we’re finally accepted.’ We get the same s**t as every celebrity couple.”

Similarly, they have been the subject of pregnancy rumors for almost as long as they’ve been married. And again, she’s glad to be the subject of those rumors, because that means that the gossip rumor mill is focused on the same issues that hetero couples face.

“Wow, this is great that I’m pregnant, not pregnant, divorced, not divorced, whatever. That means there is an acceptance for this.”

As far as how they respond to the rumors? They don’t. Responding to them would give them legitimacy, says Portia, so simply ignoring them has been their standard response.

If the pair is getting divorced (which they’re not, nor are they pregnant), the timing would be extremely strange, considering that the pair just got back from a much-publicized trip to Africa.

Specifically, as reported by the Inquisitr, Ellen and Portia recently visited Rwanda after De Rossi had gifted Ellen with a gorilla conservation center in her (Ellen’s) name.

This was us about to start our three-mile trek up the mountain to see the gorillas. Every moment of it was incredible. pic.twitter.com/I2Az9ym3ta

— Ellen DeGeneres (@EllenDeGeneres) June 2, 2018

Besides their gorilla-conservation efforts, the women also helped with elephant conservation as well. According to this Inquisitr report, Ellen helped publicize the #BeKindToElephants movement after Donald Trump lifted the Obama-era ban on trading ivory products in the U.S. (although that move was later put on hold). Legalities aside, Ellen put her money behind the movement, donating an undisclosed sum to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

“Elephants show compassion, sympathy, social intelligence, self awareness. They’re excellent at learning abilities. All the things I have yet to see in this president.”