Ellen DeGeneres has quietly snapped up a $27 million California mansion, just 14 months after she appeared to bolt for Britain following Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Despite the pricey Montecito buy, DeGeneres is not packing up her life overseas, according to People. Instead, she plans to divide her time between California and the United Kingdom.
“She’s not moving back to the US but will continue to split her time between both the UK and Montecito,” an insider told the outlet.
The former daytime TV star purchased a $14 million farmhouse in England’s Cotswolds in June 2024, several months after Trump reclaimed the presidency following a four-year absence. The property sits about 100 miles northwest of London.
She later moved to another glass-walled mansion in the same area to better accommodate wife Portia de Rossi’s need to have horses on hand.
Even so, a real estate source said the couple has been longing for familiar comforts back home.
Despite DeGeneres’ public comments about leaving the US, a source told People that the 68-year-old and her actor wife have been “missing the California weather and horse scene,” since relocating abroad.
“Portia loves polo and her horses,” the source added.
DeGeneres was spotted shopping for a Montecito home late last month on the same day she was expected to take part in a “no work, no school, no shopping” protest tied to opposition to ICE.
Back in England, locals in the Cotswolds told People they have not seen DeGeneres “in ages” and said she had not been in a local pub for “several months.” Another source countered that DeGeneres was seen frequently in the village over the summer.
DeGeneres publicly confirmed in July 2025 that Trump’s election played a role in her move overseas.
She told an audience at Cheltenham’s Everyman Theatre that they “got here the day before the election,” adding, “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.’ ”
At the time, she described life in England as “absolutely beautiful.”
DeGeneres is known for flipping high-end homes and has long dabbled in luxury real estate. She reportedly attempted to sell her original UK farmhouse for $30 million but struggled to find a buyer. The Daily Mail reported the home is now close to selling after several million dollars were shaved off the asking price.
The comedian has also stayed vocal politically. Last month, she apologized for the ICE surge in Minneapolis.
“I just wanted to say I am so sorry for what is happening in Minneapolis and our country, really, but specifically Minneapolis right now,” DeGeneres said in a video. “Because it’s where I shot my last stand-up special, and everybody there couldn’t have been more lovely.”
