Ellen DeGeneres opens up on bullying, depression after coming out

Ellen DeGeneres. Photo / Getty Images

Ellen DeGeneres has opened up about the cruel bullying she suffered in Hollywood after bravely coming out as gay two decades ago.

The Finding Dory star revealed she is a lesbian in 1997, and the abuse she received afterwards was so bad, she slipped into a "severe depression".

Speaking in the new issue of Good Housekeeping magazine, she said: "The bullying I endured [in Hollywood] after I came out made up for the lack of it during my childhood...

"I moved out of L.A., went into a severe depression, started seeing a therapist and had to go on antidepressants for the first time in my life."

It was a difficult time for the 59-year-old presenter - who is married to Portia de Rossi - because she felt "lonely" as people treated her differently, despite her being the same person she'd always been.

She added: "It was scary and lonely. All I'd known for 30 years was work, and all of a sudden I had nothing. Plus, I was mad. It didn't feel fair - I was the same person everyone had always known."

However, Ellen didn't let depression or the bullies defeat her.

Taking everything in her stride, she focused on meditation and set about pulling herself out of the dark spell - and even now she's proud of how she coped with the ordeal.

She said: "Eventually I started meditating, working out and writing again, and I slowly started to climb out of it. I can't believe I came back from that point. I can't believe where my life is now."

As she looks to a brighter future, Ellen added: "My motto is, 'I do my best. You can be with me or not.''

-Bang! Showbiz