By Advocate.com Editors

Originally published on Advocate.com May 22 2001 12:00 AM ET

During the airing of the Daytime Emmy Awards last Sunday, Rosie O’Donnell clutched her Emmy for best talk show host and thanked “Kelli, who slept on the floor of the ICU and kept them from cutting off my finger. I love you!” Village Voice columnist Michael Musto reports that the Kelli in question is Kelli Carpenter, a woman who has been documented in tabloid stories as Rosie’s life partner.