Portia De Rossi’s Ex-Husband Ran Off With Her Brother’s Wife



Apparently, before she was Ellen Degeneres‘ wife, Portia de Rossi was married to a man…until her husband ran off with her sister-in-law. Married to filmmaker Mel Metcalfe in 1996, de Rossi was stunned three years later when Metcalfe left her for brother Michael’s wife Renee Kappos. “When Mel left me and Renee suddenly sabotaged her marriage to my brother to be with Mel, Brother and I were left idiotically scratching our heads in disbelief,” de Rossi reveals. Despite the unexpected affair, however, Portia already knew that her days as a straight woman were nearing an end. “By the end of our first year together, despite my desire to be attracted to him, my latent fear of my real sexuality was simmering and about to boil,” Portia now admits. Seems like some blessings come in disguise, or by the name of Mel Metcalfe.

Portia opens up about her divorce, eating disorder and more in her new memoir Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain. Despite what some have suggested, Australian-born Portia did not marry her hubbie to stay in the U.S., explaining “I actually married him, for a green card. But I didn’t get my green card through him—I couldn’t do it at the end.” Luckily there’s no lingering bad blood between Portia and her ex, so we guess it worked out for the best for everyone in the end. Oh, wait, except for Portia’s brother. Oh yikes…

[Photo: Getty Images]