Ellen DeGeneres 'Grateful' Her Talk Show Ended With tWitch 'By My Side'

Ellen DeGeneres has expressed her gratitude for late Ellen DeGeneres Show DJ Stephen "Twitch" Boss in a clip she shared from the final episode of the show.

Boss—who was also a co-executive producer on the program—died by suicide at the age of 40 on December 13, the Los Angeles County medical examiner-coroner confirmed to Newsweek at the time.

The following day, Boss' wife, Allison Holker, shared a heartbreaking statement.

"It is with the heaviest of hearts that I have to share my husband Stephen has left us. Stephen lit up every room he stepped into. He valued family, friends and community above all else and leading with love and light was everything to him," the HGTV host, 34, told People. "He was the backbone of our family, the best husband and father, and an inspiration to his fans."

She continued: "To say he left a legacy would be an understatement, and his positive impact will continue to be felt. I am certain there won't be a day that goes by that we won't honor his memory. We ask for privacy during this difficult time for myself and especially for our three children."

"Stephen, we love you, we miss you, and I will always save the last dance for you," Holker concluded.

Boss is survived by Holker and their three children: Weslie, 14, Maddox, 6, and Zaia, 3.

On Monday, DeGeneres shared video from the the last episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which aired on May 26.

"I will forever be grateful that the show ended with tWitch by my side," DeGeneres captioned the post.

In the clip, the pair shared how much they appreciated one another's friendship over the years.

"I'm feeling all of the things, but I think what I'm feeling most of all is grateful and thankful," Boss said, before turning to DeGeneres. "Everybody put so much care into this show because you stepped out in courage, and we appreciate you. And I'm just so grateful that I got to be a part of this and be a part of this family."

On April 30, 1997, Ellen DeGeneres publicly came out as gay on her ABC sitcom, Ellen. Although she was warned coming out would ruin her career, The Ellen DeGeneres Show premiered in September 2003.

In response to Boss, DeGeneres said they would tell each other "I love you" daily.

"This atmosphere is a family," she added.

DeGeneres was one of many celebrities who expressed their shock and condolences on social media following Boss' passing.

"tWitch was pure love and light. He was my family, and I loved him with all my heart. I will miss him," she wrote via Twitter and Instagram on December 14. "Please send your love and support to Allison and his beautiful children - Weslie, Maddox, and Zaia."

In a follow-up video posted on December 23, DeGeneres said that processing his death has been "really tough."

"Everyone is in pain and trying to make sense of it, and we'll never make sense of it," she told her followers. "To honor tWitch, I think the best thing that we can do is to laugh, hug each other, play games and dance and sing. That's the way we honor him, is we do the things that he loved to do, which is dancing."

Prior to working on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Boss was a contestant-turned-judge on So You Think You Can Dance. He also appeared in movies and television shows like Blades of Glory, Hairspray, Magic Mike XXL, Modern Family and more.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "988" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.

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