Ellen DeGeneres and wife Portia de Rossi have moved to rural England, put their Montecito estate on the market and plan to never return to the United States, telling friends the election of Donald Trump was their primary motivation, a person close to the former TV host told TheWrap.
Though the incoming Republican administration was the cited catalyst, a fresh start couldn’t hurt: DeGeneres has been open about being “kicked out of show business” after reports of toxic workplace behavior at the syndicated “Ellen” show in 2022.
DeGeneres has already moved to the Cotswolds, a rural area in south-central England, the person said, adding that her Montecito mansion, roughly 90 minutes north of Los Angeles, has been pocket-listed or will be listed soon. A representative for Riskin Partners, the prestigious real estate company she retains, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
DeGeneres reportedly bought the sprawling Montecito property in 2019, and she and de Rossi have made it their primary residence; it wasn’t clear what would become of her other Southern California properties. A former spokeswoman for DeGeneres said she is no longer representing the comedian since her comedy special and tour are concluded.
DeGeneres recently released “Four Your Approval,” a stand-up show she produced with Netflix. In it, she chronicled how she was spending her time post-“Ellen” – and aside from the comedy special itself, none of it was related to show business.
“I decided to take up gardening,” DeGeneres said. “I got chickens. Let me see what else I can tell you about what’s been going on … Oh yeah, I got kicked out of show business … Yeah, the ‘be kind’ girl wasn’t kind. That was the headline.”
She then wondered aloud whether she should have set expectations differently.
“Had I ended my show by saying, ‘Go f–k yourselves,’ people would have been pleasantly surprised to find out I’m kind,” the comedian joked.
Sharon Waxman contributed reporting to this story.
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