The beloved comic revealed the exciting news on Tuesday.
Ellen DeGeneres isn't leaving her daytime talk show any time soon.
The comedian addressed reports that she'd been considering quitting her popular talk show during Tuesday's episode, before shutting those rumors down with the news that she's just signed a three-year contract to keep on hosting.
"I've been doing this show for 16 years, that's about 3,000 episodes," DeGeneres told her audience. "I don't remember them but I'm told they were enjoyable."
"From the beginning I said this show was going to be like a relationship. We have been through the good, the bad, the Fifty Shades of Grey phase. It's been a lot of fun and 16 years has been a pretty good run," shared DeGeneres, who seemed to be hinting that she would be departing the show, sending her audience into a somber silence.
However, she didn't leave them hanging for long, adding, "Sometimes, in a relationship, you need to take a break. But I don't! You're stuck with me, because I just signed for three more years."
A source close to production tells ET that "Ellen thought about her decision to sign on for more years with her show, and ultimately decided extending was the right decision."
"Ellen knows that there is a lot of negativity going on in today’s climate, and loves bringing positivity into peoples lives," the source added. "The constant messages from fans were a reminder as to why she does it. Also, Ellen negotiated a big deal, with ownership in her show, as well as numerous projects with NBC."
The 61-year-old TV personality also posted a clip of her announcement to Twitter, which she emotionally captioned, "Doing this show has been the ride of my life."
Looking back at where her life was when she first started hosting, DeGeneres explained how her self-titled talk show brought her back from what she felt was a career chasm, following the cancellation of her groundbreaking sitcom, Ellen.
"This show was my second chance… and it turns out it also helped other people go through a tough time," she reflected. "That's why I'm going to keep doing this show."
"And Lamborghinis are expensive," she added with a laugh.
Earlier this month, ET's Deidre Behar spoke with DeGeneres at a Netflix-hosted For Your Consideration event for her latest stand-up comedy special, Relatable, and the beloved TV host reflected on how she thinks she'll know when it's time to step down.
"I hope I know when. [Maybe] when people kind of are tired of me, and I think I'll sense that," DeGeneres shared.
However, after thinking it over for a moment, DeGeneres realized that people getting tired of her wouldn't actually be the death knell for her show.
"You know, I'll walk away really when I stop having fun. I actually don't care about the rest of the people," she quipped. "If I'm having fun and no one's watching, I don't care. But if I'm not having fun and everyone's watching, then I should walk away."
Check out the video below to hear more from the comedy titan about her daytime talk show.
RELATED CONTENT:
