News Scrap

‘We’re staying’: A slew of text messages convinced Ellen and Portia to permanently move to the UK

Jul 20, 2025

Ellen Degeneres name now sits on a list of stars such as Eva Longoria and Rosie O’Donnell who have publicly confirmed that they left the United States because of President Donald Trump’s reelection.

In a recent conversation with the BBC’s Richard Bacon at Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham, Degeneres confirmed the speculation surrounding her move across the ditch with wife Portia de Rossi.

When asked by Bacon if the reports claiming tthe couple relocated due to Trump, the former talk show host simply said “yes”.

READ MORE: Coldplay frontman’s warning to crowd in wake of CEO kiss cam saga

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi

Initially, Degeneres and De Rossi originally bought their home in the Cotswolds, with plans for it to be a “part-time house”, spending around three to four months a year there.

They first arrived a day before the US election took place, with Degeneres saying the next day the couple woke up to “lots of texts from our friends with crying emojis”.

“I was like, ‘He got in’. And we’re like, ‘We’re staying here’,” she said.

For a daily dose of 9honey, subscribe to our newsletter here.

Watch Ellen DeGeneres' trailer for new documentary

Although Degeneres admitted November wasn’t “the ideal time” to arrive in the UK, she did look on the positive side sharing that she got to see snow for the first time.

In terms of their decision to reside in the UK permanently, Degeneres said she and De Rossi had been researching a recent move by the Southern Baptist convention to endorse the reversal of a supreme court case allowing same-sex marriage.

“They’re trying to literally stop it from happening in the future and possibly reverse it,” she told Bacon.

“If they do that, we’re going to get married here.”

Despite the US being their home, Degeneres and Rossi seem to be settling into the UK life just fine, as the star told Bacon they both think “it’s beautiful here”.

”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,” she said.

READ MORE: Pop star Charli XCX ties the knot in surprise wedding

Ellen Degeneres and Portia De Rossi

“It’s clean. Everything here is just better – the way animals are treated, people are polite. I just love it here.

“Portia flew her horses here, and I have chickens, and we had sheep for about two weeks.”

FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.