Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi celebrate 15 years of marriage

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi just celebrated 15 years of marriage. We revisit their romance history to honor the lovebirds.

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, happy 15th anniversary! As the talk show host, 60, and actress, 45, celebrate 15 years of married bliss, we’re taking a look back at their romance timeline.

But to begin with, we have to cheer Ellen for choosing a very unusual anniversary gift for Portia that, as People pointed out, might have fallen just a tad short of what DeGeneres intended.

Ellen DeGeneres plans the sweetest anniversary gift, but oops!

DeGeneres is known for giving her talk show guests the most fabulous gifts. But something (perhaps the excitement of celebrating such a significant anniversary) was off when Ellen planned her anniversary present for de Rossi.

Part of the gift was a soaring success. DeGeneres did succeed in hiring a plane. She also scored a win in crafting a message for a banner that the plane would fly over their home.

Just one tiny problem — literally. The message (“15 with a heart”) was too small to be read from their house!

The two began dating 15 years ago

When DeGeneres and de Rossi started dating, it was a very different world, pointed out E! News.

The two first encountered one another in December 2004, when Paris Hilton was famous for declaring, “That’s hot” and Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson seemed like a forever couple.

Portia, who divorced Mel Metcalfe in 1999, had been in a relationship with another woman before. But she didn’t respond when asked during interviews if she was gay. It wasn’t until after she began dating DeGeneres that de Rossi was ready to come out.

“Believe me, I had a very, very long and difficult struggle with my sexuality,” admitted the woman who would become Ellen’s wife.

In contrast, DeGeneres chose the cover of Time magazine in April 14, 1997, for a very public coming out.

Love blossomed as the two became pet parents

Along with coming out, DeGeneres and de Rossi came together. They moved in together and became the parents of what would turn into a series of rescue animals.

As for kids? DeGeneres has a unique view on mothering.

In addition to being pet parents, Ellen feels like a parent in a very different sense of the word. She has called her talk show “the hardest job I’ve ever had, but it’s the most satisfaction I’ve ever had, so I’m sure it’s like being a mother.”

Wedding bells for these lovebirds

Thus far, DeGeneres and de Rossi haven’t added human kids to their list of milestones. But the two did achieve something that both wanted: A wedding.

Following the California Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on gay marriage in May 2008, Ellen and Portia tied the knot in August 2008. Their wedding took place at their mansion in Beverly Hills, with the two choosing designer Zac Posen for the occasion.

Ellen has the perfect response to all those split rumors

DeGeneres sees an occasional tabloid that claims she and de Rossi are splitting. And she has the perfect response, declaring that she is “more in love with Portia all the time.”

And with all that Ellen DeGeneres has accomplished, from her selfless efforts to help those less fortunate to her talk show, she has this to say about her relationship with de Rossi: “Being her wife is the greatest thing that I am.”

Have a happy anniversary message for the couple? Share the love with us in the comments!