Ellen DeGeneres Says She ‘Slept for 16 Hours a Day’ Due to COVID-19 Symptoms

Nicol Natale
·3 min read
Photo credit: Steve Granitz - Getty Images
Photo credit: Steve Granitz - Getty Images
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From Prevention

  • Ellen Degeneres, 62, opened up about her experience with COVID-19.

  • She first tested positive for the coronavirus in December and returned to her talk show on Jan. 12.

  • “Excruciating” back pain and extreme fatigue were her main symptoms.

On Jan. 12, Ellen DeGeneres returned to her show for the first time since her COVID-19 diagnosis in December. She kicked off the segment by sharing a little bit about her experience with the coronavirus, including the moment she found out she tested positive.

“The weird thing is, I don’t know where I got it,” she said. “I was getting ready to tape the show ... and I was in hair and makeup, getting my face powdered and my extensions put in,” she joked. “And then my assistant Craig walks in and said, ‘You tested positive for COVID,’ and then everyone around me ran away.”

Ellen said she immediately left the studio and began to quarantine at home, where she slept in a different room than her wife Portia de Rossi. In the days that followed, she began to experience symptoms. “The first three days I slept for 16 hours a day, and then on the fourth day I woke up with back spasms,” she said. “I thought I had pulled a muscle or slept weird because I was in a different bed, but it just persisted.”

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Ellen previously opened up about her back pain due to COVID-19 in a tweet after her diagnosis. “One thing they don’t tell you is you get, somehow, excruciating back pain,” she said, adding that she “didn't know” back pain could be a symptom of COVID-19.

Like other respiratory illnesses, COVID-19 can cause muscle aches and pains, including back pain. “Similar to having the flu, COVID-19 may cause generalized achiness throughout the body,” due to the inflammatory response to the virus, Marcus Duda, M.D., orthopedic surgeon previously told Prevention.

Ellen said her doctors prescribed her painkillers, but she did not find relief. “The painkillers did not help, my back got worse,” she said. “It felt like I cracked a rib. You know how I make you laugh so hard that your ribs hurt? That’s how it was like for me. Now I know how you feel when I make you laugh.”

But she did feel better after taking steroids, which are powerful anti-inflammatory medications. “I’m fine now, everything’s clear,” Ellen said. “I want to thank everyone who reached out with kind words of support. I wish I could’ve hugged each and every one of you.”

She also sent her love and support to everyone affected by the pandemic. “I know a lot of people are struggling with this illness right now,” she said. “My heart goes out to all of them.”

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