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American comedian and television host Ellen DeGeneres bid goodbye to her show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, after completing 19 seasons.
The 64-year-old star announced in April that she would be ending the talk-show, which she dubbed the "greatest privilege" of her life.
On May 26, the Finding Dory star had her first-ever guest Jennifer Aniston wrap up the show. Expressing her feelings, the Friends star said:
"God! It's like I'm squeezing everything to just keep it all in....Where does 19 years go? I don't understand."
The two reminisced about their first interaction on the show (including which way they want their toilet paper to face) and guessed on DeGeneres' next move.
"I love your standup, I'd love to see you act again."
Aniston further added:
"Okay, I could give you a job — I mean I'm definitely looking for people. My house needs a lot of odds and ends done."
DeGeneres responded with "no" in a polite yet stern manner.
What is next for Ellen DeGeneres now that her show has ended?
After hosting the talk show for 19 years, Ellen DeGeneres will not take up any major projects as of now. The star is taking advice from former daytime TV host Oprah Winfrey to "sit and reflect" for some time.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published on May 25, DeGeneres said:
“I am going to try to take her advice, which is, ‘Don’t do anything for a year. No matter how good the offer is, just sit for a year.’ And I’ll tell you, I have an incredible offer right now that I actually got several months before I finished. It’s really, really hard to say no to and I’m asking to delay it because I am really trying to sit still. This is my first self-imposed break. The last one was not.”
That "last one" refers to the three-year hiatus she took from television in the late 1990s after coming out on her successful ABC sitcom Ellen, which was subsequently met with criticism and unexpected cancellation by the network.
“And three years at the time seemed like an eternity but, looking back on it, it was a blip, and so I can do one year. I’m going to start traveling in a couple of weeks and try to enjoy my time.”
The 64-year-old comic has stated that she has been offered private gigs and work in Las Vegas, but she is unclear if she will return to stand-up comedy or acting.
However, in the interview, Ellen said that she is planning to produce documentaries and is traveling to Rwanda in a few weeks to open a 12-acre campus focused on saving wild mountain gorillas. While there, she’ll be shooting a documentary about the operation.
For her last episode on the show, Ellen DeGeneres had Jennifer Aniston, Billie Eilish and Pink grace the gig.
Aniston then gifted DeGeneres a "Thanks for the Memories" welcome mat, a homage to the mat she gave the host during their first on-air interview all those years ago. She later added:
"I love you and I so appreciate you and what you have given to the world over the last 19 years — the contribution is, it's endless. And not only have you shaped my life and given me so much, you've been such a dear friend to me, you've changed so many people's lives who have been to this show, who have watched this show over the last 19 years."
Ellen ended her almost two-decade tenure with a heartfelt homage to her cast, highlighting many who were crucial to the show's success. She said:
"You surrounded me with so much love and so much support. You nurtured me and you found a way to make me shine brighter than I could do it by myself. You helped me be my best. I love you more than I can possibly say."
Pink, who created the show's Emmy Award-winning theme tune Today's the Day, returned to the stage later in the show's last episode to perform What About Us.
