Comedian Ellen DeGeneres has traded the glitz of Hollywood for the charm of the Cotswolds – making a bold statement by relocating to the UK right after Donald Trump secured his second term, declaring that life across the pond is “simply superior.”
The iconic comedian and former talk show host Ellen DeGeneres is embracing her new rural British lifestyle – and she’s crystal clear about what prompted her American exit.
During a packed event at Cheltenham, the former daytime TV queen revealed that she and her wife Portia de Rossi made their decisive move the morning after Donald Trump clinched his second presidential victory.
“Yes,” she stated matter-of-factly, responding to host Richard Bacon’s direct question about Trump’s win triggering their relocation. “We got here 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’.”
Now calling the Cotswolds home – a region renowned as England’s picture-perfect heartland – the 67-year-old says the choice was obvious. “It’s absolutely beautiful,” she told the audience at the Everyman Theatre. “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.”
Since purchasing what was initially planned as a “part-time house,” Ellen’s been documenting her countryside adventures online – sharing updates about her chicken-keeping endeavors and runaway sheep situations. Portia has even transported her horses overseas. “It’s clean. Everything here is just better – the way animals are treated, people are polite,” she said, “I just love it here.”
Yet beneath the idyllic surface lies a deeper motivation. Ellen expressed concerns about the current political climate in America – particularly regarding threats to same-sex marriage.
“The Baptist Church in America is trying to reverse gay marriage,” she said. “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.”
She reflected on her groundbreaking journey as one of America’s first openly gay TV personalities, recalling how her sitcom was cancelled after her 1997 coming out.
When questioned about inspiring others to come out, she responded: “I would say no.” Despite progress, she maintained that Hollywood remains unsafe for many. “If it was, all these other people that are actors and actresses that I know they’re gay, they’d be out, but they’re not, because it’s still a problem. People are still scared.”
That fear, she noted, might diminish with younger generations. “The younger generation is going to show us the way. They’re just kind of fluid – more comfortable with it.”
In a candid moment, DeGeneres addressed the controversy that clouded her talk show’s final chapter before its 2022 conclusion amid workplace toxicity claims.
“It’s as simple as, I’m a direct person, and I’m very blunt, and I guess sometimes that means that… I’m mean?” she said. “No matter what, any article that came up, it was like, ‘She’s mean’, and it’s like, how do I deal with this without sounding like a victim or ‘poor me’ or complaining? But I wanted to address it.”
She acknowledged the show’s ending wasn’t ideal, admitting it was “certainly an unpleasant way to end.” The public perception still stings: “I hate it. I hate that people think that I’m that because I know who I am and I know that I’m an empathetic, compassionate person,” she revealed.
Yet she hasn’t completely ruled out returning to the spotlight – particularly if it involves working in the UK.
“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,” she mused. Still keeping her options open, she added with characteristic humor: “I want to do something. I do like my chickens but I’m a little bit bored.”
Could Ellen become Britain’s next daytime sensation? Time will tell…
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