The 56-year-old told People magazine she and Elizabeth Rooney, 33, are set to marry - but said a ceremony could be a "long time" in the future.

O'Donnell - known for being a former host of US talk show The View as well as a prominent advocate for LGBT rights - described Rooney as a "wonderful woman".

The couple first went public with their relationship in November 2017 and have been living in different cities.

O'Donnell said: "She lives in Boston now and I live here in New York. It's been a long-distance thing. It's been great. I think she's a wonderful woman."

The comedian praised her fiancee for being an Army veteran as well as being an undefeated boxer during her time in the military.

She added: "She's very much an equal, she's very much her own person and loves what she does. She's a pretty unbelievable young woman."

O'Donnell also joked about their 23-year age gap and told People: "I keep telling her I'm too old for her. But she doesn't seem to care.

"She's like 'I was in the Army! I put my life on the line every day - you think I don't know who I want to date?' I'm like 'All right, I guess that's true.' She has a lot of good points."

O'Donnell became a household name in the US while hosting The Rosie O'Donnell Show from 1996 to 2002.

As the Emmy-winning daytime television talk show was coming to an end, O'Donnell came out and announced she was gay.

She later went on to co-host The View.

O'Donnell has been involved in a long-running feud with US President Donald Trump.

Australian Associated Press