Ellen DeGeneres is one of the most iconic gay and gay rights activist personalities of our generation.
The talk show host publicly came out as lesbian in 1997, a move that was quite rare among members of the LGBTQ community at the time, not least for those who had an illustrious career to protect.
In 2004, Ellen started going out with Arrested Development star Portia de Rossi, a relationship that has endured the test of time to this day. The pair tied the knot in August 2008, after the California Supreme Court overturned two statutes which had previously outlawed same-sex marriage in the state.
Before she started hosting her Ellen DeGeneres Show in September 2003, the Louisiana-born star had been known mostly as a stand-up comedian and actress in various films and TV shows.
Over the course of her acting career, Ellen had played multiple roles as a straight woman, and been paired up with male characters. In real life, she was for a period of time linked with fellow actor Johnathon Schaech, who most people claim to be the only man she has ever dated.
The truth is quite different, however, as Schaech would much later come to reveal.
Did Ellen DeGeneres Ever Date Johnathon Schaech?
In the early-to-mid '90s, Ellen DeGeneres was often seen at awards events accompanied by Johnathon Schaech. Although they never publicly commented on their relationship status, the two of them would often appear cozy enough to suggest that they were seeing each other.
In August 2020, Schaech shared a post on his Twitter account that revealed that he was doing this only as a way to protect Ellen's career interests. It was an affirmation of similar sentiments he had made in a Reddit Q&A session about four years earlier.
Asked why he and Ellen were so often spotted together at red carpet events, he wrote, 'My manager asked me to accompany her to events. She was scared people would not watch the show, her sitcom Ellen, because she was gay. It was an honor.'
Schaech also went on to explain that his own family background made him empathetic to Ellen's conundrum at the time.
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'I grew up with two gay aunts and a gay uncle,' Schaech continued. 'My Aunt died of cancer. She was a proud woman, and she didn’t get proper care because she didn’t want to be away from her partner. Hospitals didn’t allow partners the same rights as a spouse.'
Who Else Has Ellen DeGeneres Dated?
According to Who's Dated Who, Portia de Rossi is not the first woman in Ellen DeGeneres' life. In her early 20s, Ellen experienced her first taste of love, in New Orleans writer and gay bar manager, Kat Perkoff.
Perkoff was just about one year older than Ellen, and as their love blossomed, they moved in together for a while. The honeymoon period of their relationship didn't last, however, and they separated soon after.
Unfortunately, Perkoff's life would also end tragically around the same time, as she died in a car accident. The young woman was also said to be involved in drug smuggling, with some people convinced that there was foul play in her demise.
Between 1988 and 1996, Ellen was in a relationship with production manager and entrepreneur Teresa Boyd. This was also the same period of time when she was often seen out and about with Schaech.
RELATED: The Truth About Portia De Rossi's Life Before Marrying Ellen DeGeneres
Anne Heche and Alexandra Hedison are the two other women Ellen is known to have been with before she eventually met Portia.
Ellen DeGeneres' Relationship With Portia De Rossi
At the time when Portia de Rossi started to open up her heart to Ellen DeGeneres, she had been in a four-year relationship with Italian-American screenwriter and director, Francesca Gregorini. When she started met Ellen in 2004, she knew she had to end things with her then-beau.
"I really, really hated all the pain I put Francesca through, and I really didn’t want to hurt her," Portia told Advocate in 2005. "But I just couldn’t ignore the feelings I had for Ellen... It was very hard for me to get her out of my mind."
With Ellen officially out of the closet, the two of them were now able to spend time together publicly, which hadn't been the case in any of the comedian's past relationships. Even before it was legal for them to exchange vows, Ellen and Portia had already moved in together, in their home in Beverley Hills, California.
It is the life that she dreamed of as gay girl growing up in Louisiana. For the period of time she couldn't live her truth openly, she can be thankful to Johnathon Schaech for helping get through it.
NEXT: Did Portia De Rossi Inspire Ellen DeGeneres To Get Plastic Surgery?
