Ellen surprises wife Portia with romantic gesture at Hewing Hotel in Minneapolis

Ellen tweeted a photo of Portia's hotel bed covered with flower petals.

November 11, 2017 at 1:20AM
Ellen DeGeneres, left, and Portia de Rossi arrive at the People's Choice Awards at the Nokia Theatre on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2015, in Los Angeles. (Photo by John Shearer/Invision/AP) ORG XMIT: INVW
Ellen DeGeneres, left, and Portia de Rossi arrive at the People’s Choice Awards in 2015 in Los Angeles. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Ellen DeGeneres arranged for a romantic surprise for her wife, actress Portia de Rossi, who visited Minneapolis this week.

DeGeneres tweeted a photo Friday of a bed at the Hewing Hotel in Minneapolis' North Loop. Arranged on the plaid comforter were white flower petals in the shape of a heart.

"Special thanks to Emily Lushi at the Hewing Hotel in Minneapolis for helping me surprise Portia. She went above and beyond," DeGeneres wrote. Lushi is the hotel's director of operations.

The Hewing Hotel opened in the historic Jackson Building in Nov. 2016. It quickly became a hot spot in the hip North Loop for its Nordic-kitschy design, restaurant Tullibee and exclusive rooftop pool and lounge.

A hotel publicist confirmed de Rossi's stay.

"Yes, we can confirm that Portia stayed at the Hewing Hotel earlier this week. Ellen was not there with her. There are no additional details to share at this time," the publicist wrote in an email.

De Rossi also stopped in Thursday to northeast Minneapolis vegan butcher shop, the Herbivorous Butcher. She and DeGeneres are both vegan.

Incidentally, De Rossi made headlines Wednesday evening when she tweeted about alleged sexual harassment she experienced from Steven Seagal while auditioning for one of his films.

Though not with de Rossi for this trip, DeGeneres was in Minneapolis last month to launch a partnership with General Mills.

Some of DeGeneres's fans were confused by the hotel bed photo, wondering what the heart was made of. The longtime talk show host responded, "They're rose petals. Not potato chips. I only cover her bed in potato chips on our anniversary."

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about the writer

Sharyn Jackson

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Sharyn Jackson is a features reporter covering the Twin Cities' vibrant food and drink scene.

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