Ellen DeGeneres Reveals She and Portia de Rossi Left America for Good Following Trump’s 2024 Re‑election

21 July 2025

DeGeneres also hinted that she and de Rossi could be looking to get married again in the UK.BACKGRID

Ellen DeGeneres has publicly confirmed that the final piece in her decision to leave the United States and find a permanent home in the United Kingdom was Donald Trump’s re‑election in November 2024. What had begun as a part‑time escape transformed overnight into a full‑time move when DeGeneres and her wife awoke on election day in the Cotswolds to messages from friends filled with tears and emojis, signalling a truth too stark to ignore. In that moment they agreed in unison: “We’re staying here”.

The couple had initially planned to spend just a few months of each year in England, keeping their ties to Los Angeles while enjoying a second home in South West England. But after a dramatic scenic view of Transatlantic politics, they opted to make their rural retreat their everyday reality. Their decisions were swift. They purchased an $18 million Cotswolds farmhouse in November, paying roughly $3 million over asking to secure a sprawling property nestled amid verdant pastures and winding lanes.

Almost immediately, DeGeneres began falling in love with her surroundings—the charming villages, the architectural grace, and the sense of community. She repeatedly praised her new hometown for its cleanliness, polite residents, and better standards of animal welfare. These qualities stood in stark contrast to her perception of America under Trump’s second term. While she and de Rossi embraced country living raising horses, wandering through meadows, tending chickens, and doting on their dogs they went deeper, appreciating not only the ecology but also the societal values they found there.

DeGeneres did not shy away from commenting on what she perceives as broader challenges in the U.S. Her concerns include organized efforts by the Southern Baptist Convention to overturn the landmark Obergefell decision, which legalized same‑sex marriage nationwide. She revealed that, should gay marriage face reversal in America, she and de Rossi intend to reaffirm their vows on English soil a symbolic act as meaningful as it is personal.

The Cotswolds move also proves to be a tacit rebuke of Trump’s climate and animal welfare policies, as DeGeneres repeatedly contrasted the humane treatment of animals in the U.K. with what she described as a lower standard in the U.S. Her admiration for clean fields and kind people has become emblematic of a quieter rebellion one that seeks dignity, politeness, and ethical stewardship over spectacle and division.

This public declaration marks DeGeneres’s first detailed explanation of the move and offers insight into her evolving worldview. It is also her first major public appearance since closing The Ellen DeGeneres Show and embarking on a stand-up tour. In Cheltenham, she expressed a touch of restlessness and hinted at future creative projects though far removed from the daytime talk format she once hosted.

That initial stay in the U.K. swiftly turned into a full relocation after Oprah‑style shock Waves in her inbox and a shared reassessment of priorities. Their Cotswolds home became their base, prompting the sale of a major California estate in 2024 and later listing their Montecito bungalow transactions that AAC’s placed at approximately $96 million

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DeGeneres went further than merely describing her move as personal. During her public talk she candidly addressed past controversies connected to her talk show, including staff allegations of a toxic workplace and claims of “mean” behaviour in 2020. She defended her forthright nature while distancing herself from fixed labels during the farewell era of The Ellen Show, noting that her bluntness was often misunderstood. In doing so, she challenged the gendered expectation that women in the spotlight must always appear soft, sweet, and conventionally agreeable.

This moment is more than a lifestyle shift, it’s an ideological statement. By choosing England over America, DeGeneres and de Rossi have aligned themselves with societies that embody values of civility, animal welfare, ecological stewardship, LGBTQ+ rights, and political calm. Their story becomes a vivid memoir of a cultural partition a move motivated in part by social anxiety, in part by a search for dignity.

What began with tear‑filled texts and a gradual move toward country living has crystallized into a narrative of exile, renewal, and reinvention. DeGeneres’s words punctuated by calm conviction suggest she no longer sees America as a safe base. Yet she hasn’t burned cultural bridges; rather, she is building new ones. Her story may resonate beyond her fame, tracing the contours of an era defined by political unrest and moral crossroads.

In the backdrop of Trump’s return to power, Ellen and Portia chose pastoral beauty over partisan stress, village charm over celebrity glare. If their English odyssey proves anything it is that, in exile, one can find refuge but also reinvention. Whether they tie the knot again under English skies or launch a new creative venture, their journey speaks to an unshakable belief in a kinder, quieter, more humane world.