Ellen DeGeneres, Alexandra Hedison split

HOLLYWOOD, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Syndicated U.S. TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres has split with her girlfriend, photographer-director Alexandra Hedison.

The New York Daily News reported Saturday that a source close to the couple told People magazine that Hedison had moved out of DeGeneres' Hollywood Hills home.

"It's difficult for both of them and very sad," said the source. "They were a private couple, and they hope they can separate privately."

Hedison, the daughter of soap opera actor David Hedison, met DeGeneres via mutual friends in 2000, after DeGeneres' romance with actress Anne Heche broke up.