Ellen DeGeneres’ post-America chapter is turning out to be less of a clean break and more of a slow, circular drift back to familiar ground. More than a year after relocating to a farm in England’s Cotswolds and publicly framing the move as a reaction to Donald Trump’s 2024 election victory, DeGeneres is once again spending time in Southern California. The return, however, appears to be temporary, a seasonal detour rather than a reversal of course.
DeGeneres and her wife, Portia de Rossi, recently purchased a $27 million mansion in Montecito, the same affluent enclave they have long favored.
According to sources cited by Fox News Digital, the couple intended to spend the winter months there before heading back to England, claiming that the U.K. remains their preferred base. Friends describe the move not as indecision, but as lifestyle calibration: California’s weather and equestrian culture still exert a pull, particularly for de Rossi, who is deeply invested in polo and horses.
Their absence has reportedly been noticed in the Cotswolds, where locals told People magazine that DeGeneres, once occasionally spotted around town, has not been seen for some time.
When she was present, she blended in easily, regarded as just another celebrity among many, friendly but largely unapproached. That low-key reception seemed to align with DeGeneres’ own description of English country life as quieter, simpler, and more orderly than what she left behind in the United States.
The political framing of her departure remains one of the most striking elements of the story. DeGeneres openly acknowledged that she and de Rossi decided to stay in England after waking up to news of Trump’s victory, a moment she later recounted with visible finality.
That explanation surprised even longtime peers such as Rosie O’Donnell, who noted that DeGeneres had rarely engaged in overt political commentary during her career. The contrast highlighted how unusual the move was, not just geographically, but narratively.
Since settling in England, DeGeneres has largely retreated from public life, sharing curated glimpses of farm living, livestock mishaps, and pastoral beauty on social media. Chickens, sheep, and transplanted horses have replaced studio audiences and daytime monologues.
Yet the Montecito purchase suggests that the separation from California is not absolute. Instead, it reflects a bifurcated existence, part protest, part preference, and part habit.
