ELLEN DEGENERES SAYS MARRIAGE HAS 'SOFTENED' HER

Ellen DeGeneres, who recently came out against California's Proposition 8 prohibiting same-sex marriages, says that her own nuptials have changed her life for the better.
"My heart just feels a little bit different, softer and somehow more in love," she told the Associated Press in an interview for anti-cancer messages she recently recorded. "I don't know how. But it just feels really romantic and lovely." 
"I just feel really blessed," said DeGeneres, who recently wed Portia de Rossi.
Although she said her union, which took place after a California Supreme Court ruling legalized same-sex marriage, won't affect the upcoming sixth season of her show, she admitted that she has had to make one or two adjustments.
"I keep saying 'my girlfriend,' but I have to go to 'wife,'" the comedienne, who has recorded a collection of phone messages doubling as health wake-up calls for women, joked.The messages, part of October's national breast cancer awareness drive, are themed around "Help yourself fight breast cancer," and can be delivered by online request.
"I went into a studio and recorded a million different (versions): 'Hi, this is Ellen DeGeneres and your sister told me to remind you that it's Breast Cancer Awareness Month,'" she said. " 'Your teacher told me to call you,' 'Your neighbor told me to call you,' 'Your cousin,' 'Your mother.'"
DeGeneres said it's her annual mission to discover a new anti-breast cancer program to support. "My mom, 30 years ago, had a mastectomy. It's changed my life because I'm highly aware I'm vulnerable to this disease and I get a mammogram every year," she said.
As for her day job, she's planning appearances on her talk show featuring celebrities who have been affected by the illness in addition to inviting women to tell their own breast-cancer stories.

People