The Real Reason Ellen DeGeneres And Portia De Rossi Never Had Kids

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi have been pulling on our heart strings for years since officially becoming a couple in 2005, and are one of the longest lasting couples in Hollywood (via Insider).

The lovebirds were married in 2008, and despite their commitment to one another, they never had kids. DeGeneres told People in 2014, "Honestly, we'd probably be great parents. But it's a human being, and unless you think you have excellent skills and have a drive or yearning in you to do that, the amount of work that that is and responsibility — I wouldn't want to screw them up! We love our animals."

Speaking to Today in 2015, DeGeneres admitted, "I love kids, but that's such a big commitment. It seems long-term. It seems like a commitment that you have to stick with. And I just don't know if I can — it's too risky" (via Us Weekly).

Of course, the topic wouldn't be complete without a little humor, and the comedian has also joked, "Like, what if I don't like the kid? What if it turns out that it's not as cute as I wanted or as talented? I'm gonna compare it to all these kids that I have on this show that are so smart and so funny. And I'm like, 'You are nowhere near these kids I had on today.'"

Another reason the pair never had children? They just love their furniture too much. DeGeneres jokingly told The Daily Telegraph in 2016 (via the Daily Mail), "We talked about [having kids] for a minute, about four years into the relationship, but we just decided we like our conversations not being interrupted and our furniture without sticky grape juice on it," she said. On a more serious note, she added, "Also, I think in this profession it can be really tough for children. It's hard for them to have to share their parents with the world. I even see it with my nieces. When we're out in public and people want to talk to me they're like, 'Why does everybody want your time? Why aren't you just with me?'"

There was a time Ellen DeGeneres thought she'd adopt, but now the couple doesn't seem to have any regrets about making the decision not to have children. 

DeGeneres touched on the topic during her 2018 appearance on Jerry Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, explaining, "I thought I would have kids. When I was younger, I really wanted to have a baby. I thought I would adopt. I never thought I would have a baby, but I thought I'd want kids." Though Seinfeld reminds DeGeneres that she "still could," DeGeneres replies in her typical dry humor, "No, Portia doesn't want kids. She doesn't like the squealing when they're in a pool, that high-pitched squealing of joy that they have" (via The Daily Beast).

For de Rossi, she admitted that there is a pressure in your 30s to have kids, but ultimately it wasn't for the couple "...You think, 'Am I going to have kids so I don't miss out on something that other people really seem to love? Or is it that I really genuinely want to do this with my whole heart?' I didn't feel that my response was 'yes' to the latter," she explained. "You have to really want to have kids, and neither of us did. So it's just going to be me and Ellen and no babies — but we're the best of friends and married life is blissful, it really is. I've never been happier than I am right now" (via Out). 

They may not have kids, but DeGeneres and de Rossi have their animals. "Animals are the closest things to God," DeGeneres, who at one point wanted to be a veterinarian, told People. As of November 2019, Little Things reports that the couple has four dogs and three cats, and DeGeneres also has her own wildlife fund to support endangered species around the world.

For years, DeGeneres and de Rossi have been dogged by tabloid rumors of divorce and pregnancies alike, and though it must get tiring for the couple, de Rossi says the rumors are actually a good thing. "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," she said. "I thought, 'Wow, this is great that I'm pregnant, not pregnant, divorced, not divorced,' whatever. That means there is an acceptance for this" (via Us Weekly).

No matter how many tabloids report that Ellen and Portia are pregnant, though, it seems to be one story we can always count on being a rumor.