Ellen DeGeneres made her big return to daytime television after one month away on Jan. 13. The talk show host took a break from The Ellen DeGeneres Show after testing positive for coronavirus in December. She opened her return show by discussing the diagnosis in her opening monologue, during which she also shared the one symptom that she suffered from while battling the virus.
“For the first three days, I slept for 16 hours a day,” Ellen explained. “Then, on the fourth day, I woke up with back spasms and I thought I pulled a muscle or slept weird because I was [quarantining] in a different bed. But it just persisted, and the doctor put me on pain killers and muscle relaxers. The pain killers did not help. My back got worse. I felt like I cracked a rib. So they finally put me on a steroid pack because the other stuff wasn’t working, and the steroids worked.”
Prior to experiencing the intense back pain herself, Ellen had never heard of anyone else who had that symptom. However, as she started telling more friends about it, she found out that “several people” who she knew had also heard of back pain as a symptom of COVID. “That’s the only symptom I had,” Ellen said. “I didn’t have a headache, I didn’t have a fever, I didn’t lose my sense of taste. I started to feel better and I’m very fortunate and blessed.”
Unfortunately, she still has no idea where she contracted the virus. “I still don’t know where I got it,” Ellen admitted. “I wear a mask, I wash my hands. So it’s a mystery to me.” Ellen seemed in great spirits during the show, and of course cracked several jokes amidst the monologue, as well. She also had Dr. Sanjay Gupta on as her first guest back, along with CNN’s Jake Tapper.
Ellen joined a long list of celebrities who have also tested positive for the virus. Stars like Khloe Kardashian, Kanye West, Tom Hanks and many more have also opened up about their experience with COVID. Luckily, the vaccine rollout is underway, and some celebrities have also been able to start getting it administered, which will continue over the next several months.