Ellen DeGeneres' Words About Loving Yourself No Matter What Are So Powerful

Ellen DeGeneres is on the cover of Good Housekeeping‘s September 2017 issue, on newsstands August 15.

Here’s what the 59-year-old talk show host had to share:

On never letting bullies win and staying strong after coming out: “The bullying I endured [in Hollywood] after I came out made up for the lack of it during my childhood… I can’t believe I came back from that point. I can’t believe where my life is now. I don’t know what people are saying about me, and I don’t want to know, because I don’t care. My motto is, ‘I do my best. You can be with me or not.’”

On loving yourself no matter what: “When I was coming out, someone gave me the Martha Graham quote ‘There is only one of you in all time.’ You’re unique, and you’re supposed to be. It’s not up to you to try to change it or question it. You’re supposed to be exactly who you are. I took in that message. I always remember it. It’s not up to me to question why, who or how I am. I just accept who I am, and I don’t judge myself.”

On making time for her loved ones: “[My wife] Portia [de Rossi] understands me completely… In our vows, she recited a quote�”‘It is good to be loved. It is profound to be understood’�”and to me, that’s everything. What ‘I love you’ really means is ‘I understand you,’ and she loves me for everything that I am. She supports me and makes me happy.”

For more from Ellen, visit GoodHousekeeping.com.