After 19 seasons and over 3,200 episodes, Ellen DeGeneres is stepping down. Even though she had seen her final week of episodes in late April, the finality hadn’t hit her when she spoke to The Hollywood Reporter a week before the series finale of The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

DeGeneres says she feels like she’s just starting another summer vacation in many ways. Oprah Winfrey, a long-time friend who has walked in her shoes, has told her that the feeling is normal. “She said I won’t really feel it until September, when I’d normally go back [to production],” adds DeGeneres, whose final episode airs on May 26 with Jennifer Aniston as her first guest and Pink, the composer of the Emmy-winning show’s theme music, returning.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Winfrey has advised DeGeneres to take some much-needed time off and not rush into her next act as quickly as Winfrey did previously. So the former sitcom star will try to unwind, travel, and think about his next project, which might be a film, another documentary, or a stand-up tour.

The comic, who returned to stand-up after a 15-year hiatus in 2018 with the Relatable special, is contractually forced to do another Netflix hour at some point. In the meantime, she’ll be in Rwanda to celebrate the opening of her 12-acre research and education centre dedicated to the conservation of endangered mountain gorillas.

Meanwhile, DeGeneres shared an emotional statement on Twitter after wrapping filming for the final episode of The Ellen Show. In her message, DeGeneres mentioned how much has changed during the show’s run.

embedpost slug= “/travis-barker-and-kourtney-kardashian-legally-married-at-santa-barbara-courthouse/”]