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Portia de Rossi nervous at first meet with Ellen

Nov 10, 2009, 12:03 GMT

Portia de Rossi was too nervous to date now-wife Ellen DeGeneres. Portia - who married Ellen in 2008 - says it took her a long time to open up to the 41-year-old comedienne about how she felt because she was worried about the public response to her sexuality.
- Los Angeles, CA. USA © Albert L. Ortega / PR Photos

Portia - who married Ellen in 2008 - says it took her a long time to open up to the 41-year-old comedienne about how she felt because she was worried about the public response to her sexuality. - Los Angeles, CA. USA © Albert L. Ortega / PR PhotosThe 'Arrested Development' actress said she fell for the talk show host the first time she "laid eyes on her", but couldn't bring herself to ask her out.Portia, 36, said: "I just walked over to say hello to her and I couldn't believe it, but she turned around and it was like an arrow was shot through my heart. "I was weak at the knees and I was overwhelmed with how I felt. But then it took me about 10 months to get the courage up to do something about it."Portia - who married Ellen in 2008 - says it took her a long time to open up to the 41-year-old comedienne about how she felt because she was worried about the public response to her sexuality.She said: "It took me three years to actually tell her how I felt about her, because I was on 'Ally McBeal' at that time and I was not living as an openly gay person."I was closeted and very, very afraid that if I talked about being gay it would be the end of my career. So I wasn't about to then date the most famous lesbian in the world."