Just a few weeks after last year’s presidential election, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi confirmed that they had moved to the UK and were planning on residing there full-time. In the months since, Ellen has sold off her properties in California, and she and Portia have really dug into their new lives in the Cotswolds region of the UK, which is known as one of the most beautiful regions of England. Many British celebrities buy country homes in Cotswolds, which means that Ellen and Portia are probably not even the only celebrities in their neighborhood. Still, they’re something of a local curiosity. Which is why Ellen did a live conversation in Cheltenham where she answered questions about why she moved:
Ellen DeGeneres just confirmed that President Donald Trump inspired her permanent move to the United Kingdom. Last November, the comedian and former talk show host, 67, and her wife, Portia de Rossi, relocated from the U.S. to the English countryside. In DeGeneres’ first public appearance since moving to the Cotswolds region, she confirmed reports that she and de Rossi, 52, decided to settle across the pond after Trump, 79, was re-elected, per the BBC.
During a live conversation in the English town of Cheltenham on Sunday, July 20, English broadcaster Richard Bacon asked DeGeneres whether reports that Trump played a role in the move are correct, to which she replied, “Yes,” the BBC reported.
Initially, the Ellen DeGeneres Show alum thought she and her wife would spend just a portion — three or four months — of the year at their “part-time house” in the U.K., she explained to Bacon at Cheltenham’s Everyman theater. Then, Trump was re-elected.
The couple “got here the day before the election,” DeGeneres recalled, “and woke up to lots of texts from our friends with crying emojis, and I was like, ‘He got in.’ … And we’re like, ‘We’re staying here.’ ”
In the same appearance, the comedian also raved to Bacon about life in the U.K., according to the BBC.
“It’s absolutely beautiful,” the star said, adding that she and de Rossi are “just not used to seeing this kind of beauty. The villages and the towns and the architecture — everything you see is charming and it’s just a simpler way of life. We moved here in November, which was not the ideal time, but I saw snow for the first time in my life,” the former California native recalled. “We love it here. Portia flew her horses here, and I have chickens, and we had sheep for about two weeks.”
But it’s not just the natural beauty the couple loves. “Everything here is just better — the way animals are treated, people are polite,” DeGeneres said. “I just love it here.”
The comedian had relocated to the English countryside last November, after selling her and de Rossi’s California estate in August for $96 million, a real estate insider told PEOPLE at the time.
She’s telling the truth – I think she originally intended the Cotswolds home to just be a vacation home outside of America, but she and Portia quickly made the decision to simply stay there permanently. It was a good decision, in my opinion. I don’t blame any American who leaves. For Ellen in particular, I appreciate that she’s not really trying to launch herself over there or start a brand new career. This is her retirement – she’s retired to the English countryside and she’s not looking to put a target on herself. She just wants to live a quiet life. As for “people are polite”… sure, I believe that. (They wouldn’t be so polite if she was anyone other than a famous, rich, white American celebrity.)
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- Finding Dory Premiere held at the Odeon Leicester Square.,Image: 293717431, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Ellen Degeneres,Portia De Rossi, Credit line: /Wenn/Avalon
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- Ellen Degeneres performing at One805Live, a benefit concert for Santa Barbara first responders on Kevin Costner’s estate in Montecito, USA, on 22 September 2023.,Image: 807738448, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: JERRY PEREZ / Avalon
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- Ellen Degeneres performing at One805Live, a benefit concert for Santa Barbara first responders on Kevin Costner’s estate in Montecito, USA, on 22 September 2023.,Image: 807738476, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: JERRY PEREZ / Avalon
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- -Beverly Hills, CA – 20200105 – 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards – Arrivals, at The Beverly Hilton Holtel -PICTURED: Ellen Degeneres, Portia de Rossi -PHOTO by: JENNIFER GRAYLOCK/INSTARimages.com This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Startraks Photo for licensing fee and rights information at sales@startraksphoto.com or call +1 212 414 9464 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Startraks Photo reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded Featuring: Ellen Degeneres, Portia de Rossi Where: Beverly Hills, California, United States When: 05 Jan 2020 Credit: JENNIFER GRAYLOCK/INSTARimages.com
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- -Beverly Hills, CA – 20200105 – 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards – Arrivals, at The Beverly Hilton Holtel -PICTURED: Ellen Degeneres, Portia de Rossi -PHOTO by: JENNIFER GRAYLOCK/INSTARimages.com This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Startraks Photo for licensing fee and rights information at sales@startraksphoto.com or call +1 212 414 9464 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Startraks Photo reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded Featuring: Ellen Degeneres, Portia de Rossi Where: Beverly Hills, California, United States When: 05 Jan 2020 Credit: JENNIFER GRAYLOCK/INSTARimages.com
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- , Los Angeles, CA – 20200105 77th Annual Golden Globes – Press Room. -PICTURED: Ellen Degeneres -PHOTO by: Media Punch/INSTARimages.com This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Instar Images LLC for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Instar Images LLC reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded Featuring: Ellen Degeneres Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 05 Jan 2020 Credit: Media Punch/INSTARimages.com
Hmm…she found herself in a selfie with Jeremy Clarkson. I’m sure the Trump presidency was part of it but I also think she left the US because she’s burned a lot of bridges. She gone to a place where people don’t really know her.
I would think Ellen is well known in England, most US shows are available in most countries.
Yeah, I agree @amybee. I don’t think they *moved* because of Trump. Things just worked out that way. On another note, that line about the snow was weird to me. If you can afford to have horses (plural) and to fly said horses to another country, surely you can afford a vacation where it snows.
I too left. I moved to Sweden (my spouse is Swedish) and I’m here to stay. I also left my student loans behind and I feel zero bad about that. After paying for many years, I had paid the amount I borrowed and somehow I still owed just about that much. So I left the whole Trump nightmare and those predatory loans behind. All the noise…left it behind. Now I walk everywhere, choosing not to have a car. I live in a very tiny northern village (hardly can even be called a village really with just 600 people quite spread out…we have a tiny grocery store, a tiny pharmacy, and a farm/outdoor/everything store) with my spouse, dogs, cats, chickens, and books. I left my sense of urgency behind too. I hurry for no one and nothing. I teach in a tiny school and I bake a lot. I drink lots of tea. It’s a simple life and I have no regrets.
Maren, we are experiencing the same people since leaving! I walk everywhere too! I love my life now and went home to Canada. Almost immediately my skin improved (less carcinogens its in our food supply) and I feel healthier and happier.
I’d leave if I could.
I’m actively researching immigration requirements to a couple of favorite European countries and possibly even Canada. It is very complicated financially/taxwise and if you add in a language barrier it becomes less and less plausible.
I’m happy to hear you have done it so successfully.
I know had a big advantage having a Swedish spouse who was very ready to be back home for good after just a year living full-time in the U.S… And I learned the language fluently while we were dating so that helped too. I wish you luck!!
Yes, and because the word is fully out about what a wretched person she is.
I don’t blame them for leaving either. If you are LGTBQ, differently abled, or have a child who is differently abled, Black, Brown, Asian, Jewish, Muslim, and I could go on, leaving is the safest play because you are in real danger.
The administration is building pop up concentration camps, and they have outright said they will put American citizens in them. They use language like “enemy of the state” and “poisoning the blood” etc. It would be really really foolish to assume this will stop with Latino immigrants. They are the just the first group to be targeted.
Find friends abroad. Where can you go when your number is up? Save your money, update your passports. Sell your property. If you’re renting, don’t renew your rental agreement, go month to month until you can get out. Make plans for your pets. There are some great Reddit threads about everything that needs to be done before an international move. Those were really helpful to me. I am not going to lie – it was expensive and overwhelming. And I got out pretty quickly which added to my stress. But I love my life now. I didn’t just escape the Fourth Reich, I don’t worry about mass shootings, medical bankruptcy, I’m taking your life kind of racism, false arrest, the sea of Karens you encounter just trying to mind your business while running an errand, and the psychological and physical violence that I have come to associate with America after over 20 years there.
I am very happy for you that you managed to get out.x
Not sure why Portia is copykeening Ellen in the suit and with the hair (I just keep wanting to smooth it down), but I do like Ellen’s disco suit. That has way more personality than she usually has!
Hm! She might now bump into JD Vance on his summer family vacation.
Trump may be a reason why she left, but it’s not THE reason. Hollywood shut her out when her Gee Whiz apology didn’t work.
“It’s absolutely beautiful,” the star said, adding that she and de Rossi are “just not used to seeing this kind of beauty. The villages and the towns and the architecture — everything you see is charming and it’s just a simpler way of life… But it’s not just the natural beauty the couple loves. “Everything here is just better — the way animals are treated, people are polite.”
— Oh, FFS, you were living in MONTECITO, lady.