Media mogul, Ellen Degeneres appeared on Oprah’s Masterclass and spoke candidly about her decision to come out – and what it was like living in the spotlight with such a big secret.

Prior to coming out as gay in 1997, Ellen revealed on Oprah’s spin-off show that there was a time she thought she’d never come out, saying she was terrified that fans would turn on her for being gay.

“It was scary and crazy and what came out of listening to what I had been saying to myself was, ‘Would I still be famous, would they still love me if they knew I was gay?’” she said.

“And my fear was that no, no they wouldn’t, and then it made me feel ashamed that I was hiding something.

“It made me feel ashamed that I couldn’t feel honest and really be who I am, and I just didn’t want to pretend to be somebody else anymore so that people would like me.”

Watch below: