PORTIA DE ROSSI - DEGENERES AND ROSSI'S LESBIAN ROMANCE

Lesbian TV stars ELLEN DeGENERES and PORTIA DE ROSSI have allegedly fallen in love after leaving their long-term girlfriends.

DeGeneres ended her four-year relationship with photographer-director ALEXANDRA HEDISON on Friday (10DEC04) and is reportedly sharing her Hollywood mansion with Australian-born ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT actress De Rossi, who recently left RINGO STARR's step-daughter FRANCESCA GREGORINI, reports website PAGESIX.COM.

The couple first met on a photo shoot in March (04) and allegedly made the decision to leave their partners for each other earlier this month (01DEC04) when they met up again at VH1's BIG IN 04 awards ceremony in Los Angeles.

An insider explains, "Alexandra and Francesca are both devastated. Neither of them had any idea what was coming. People who know Ellen well feel she is going through a midlife crisis, dumping Alexandra for a hot, younger woman.

"They predict Ellen will come to her senses and dump Portia to go back to Alexandra in the near future."