Despite this, the 60-year-old recently told Entertainment Tonight that she's considered quitting the show, admitting she knows she'll someday have to walk away.
“I hope I know when. You know, I'll walk away really when I stop having fun. I actually don't care about the rest of the people," she said. "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."
A few months back in an interview with The New York Times, DeGeneres said she hesitated to extend her contract into the Summer of 2020, admitting she feels "boxed in by her reputation for kindness."
WATCH: Ellen hints at the show coming to an end.
Her most recent comments come after she finally returned to her comedic roots and released her first Netflix stand-up special titled, Ellen DeGeneres: Relatable.
“It was just kind of suggested to me and I was like, ‘Well, maybe so. Maybe that would be something to challenge me'. I made the deal before I had anything to say. And then, once I made the deal, I panicked," she said, adding that she didn't start writing the special until "like a year and a half" after singing the deal.
"I almost gave the money back twice. And then, all of a sudden, it all hit me. I was like, 'Oh my God, I have something to say!' And the name came to me and the whole thing."
