Rosie O'Donnell is in love - and it is good to see it. She is bubbling over with affection for new girlfriend Tracey Kachtick-Anders and has revealed they have been dating a lot longer than we thought.

She described Tracy as a 'lovely, lovely, lovely' girl yesterday on her Sirius show. Rosie has her critics, but we should never forget this is a woman who has donated over $100 million to charities connected with welfare for kids.

Her own searing experience growing up in Queens when her mother died of breast cancer when she was ten and her father, Irish emigrant Ed O'Donnell, who was unable to cope with the loss, has also colored her attitude towards helping needy children.

Little wonder that her new love is also deeply involved with kids’ charities. Tracy is an activist for adoptive rights for gays and founded the non-profit Open Arms Campaign, which helps recruit adoptive families. Five of her six children, who are aged 5 to 17, are adopted and several are special needs.

Now Rosie is feeling on top of the world. “Did anybody hear I have a new girlfriend?” O’Donnell cracked on her “Rosie Radio” show on Monday.

"I felt like Madonna for a moment. Truthfully I’m not really that kind of famous where people follow me,” O’Donnell said.

Her friend Jeanne Kopetic asked her on the show what it felt like, and O’Donnell said it was an "unusual feeling" to be back in the limelight.

“Odd,” O’Donnell said. “It’s only happened to me when I’ve been with (Madonna), to tell you the truth … or when I went … to Tommy Mottola’s wedding… because he married Talia, this huge star in Latin America and going into that wedding was like nothing that I have ever experienced before in my life.

“But aside from her (Madonna), everyone else I know who’s famous doesn’t really think they’re as famous as they are, including me,” O’Donnell said.

“I had no idea that it would be on CNN. Breaking news. … It’s odd for me … and quite odd for Tracy. The two were photographed holding hands in Miami on Dec. 29.