Ellen DeGeneres may have stepped away from daytime television in 2022, but she's once again making headlines and this time for a significant life change. After reports that the comedian had moved to the USA after Trump's win, she has now confirmed that she has officially relocated to the UK with her wife, Portia de Rossi.
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The couple, who originally planned a brief stay in their countryside home, have now made the move permanent. She recently told broadcaster Richard Bacon:
We got here [the UK] the day before the election 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'.
This comes after Ellen purchased an iconic LA home formerly owned by Tom Ford for a whopping $29 million.
When and why did Ellen DeGenres move out of the USA?
Ellen DeGeneres revealed that she and Portia de Rossi left the USA the day before the 2024 presidential election, and the move that quickly became permanent after Donald Trump's re-election. Speaking at an event in Cheltenham, the 67-year-old was asked if the reports are true that she moved out because of Trump's re-election, and she simply replied, 'Yes.'
According to the BBC, Ellen and her wife—who have a 16-year age gap—had initially planned to stay in the UK for three or four months a year and bought a 'part-time house' there. Ellen shared:
We moved here in November, which was not the ideal time, but I saw snow for the first time in my life. We love it here. Portia flew her horses here, and I have chickens, and we had sheep for about two weeks.
As the political landscape of the USA changes and the future of LGBTQIA+ rights remains uncertain, Ellen has also planned to remarry Portia. She explained:
The Baptist Church in America is trying to reverse gay marriage.
They're trying to literally stop it from happening in the future and possibly reverse it. Portia and I are already looking into it, and if they do that, we're going to get married here.
As a public figure who made history as one of the first openly gay women in American television, the implications of a changing political climate hit close to home. Although she has long since stepped away from her daytime talk show, Ellen remains vigilant about how policy shifts can impact queer lives in the USA.
Ellen Degenres' life in the UK
Now settled in a picturesque British village, Ellen says the pace of life has changed dramatically — for the better. She shared:
It's absolutely beautiful. We're 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.
Adding:
It's clean. Everything here is just better - the way animals are treated, people are polite. I just love it here.
While she's enjoying time away from American fame, Ellen isn't retiring just yet. In fact, she hinted at wanting to start her own talk show again, and this time around, in the UK. She shared how she misses her show 'a lot' but also knows that a similar format may not work this time around. She said:
I mean, I wish it did, because I would do the same thing here. I would love to do that again, but I just feel like people are watching on their phones, or people aren't really paying attention as much to televisions, because we're so inundated with information and entertainment.
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Sources used:
BBC: Ellen DeGeneres: I moved to the UK because of Trump
Variety: Ellen DeGeneres Says She Moved to the UK Because of Donald Trump: Life 'Is Just Better' Here
