Ellen DeGeneres has officially confirmed she has relocated permanently to the United Kingdom and says Donald Trump’s election was the deciding factor.
The 67 year old comedian and former talk show host made the revelation on Sunday during an event at the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham, central England. Speaking candidly to the audience, DeGeneres said: “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.’”
The theatre later confirmed her comments were accurate.
DeGeneres, known globally for The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which ended in 2022 following allegations of a toxic work environment, now resides in the idyllic English countryside with her wife, Arrested Development actress Portia de Rossi, 52. The couple purchased a property in the picturesque Cotswolds, a region renowned for its honey-coloured stone cottages, rolling greenery and celebrity residents such as David and Victoria Beckham, Simon Cowell and Kate Moss.
What was originally intended as a temporary getaway has become a permanent escape from what DeGeneres describes as a troubling climate in the United States.
“Everything here is just better,” she told the audience. “I wish we were at a place where it was not scary for people to be who they are. I wish that we lived in a society where everybody could accept other people and their differences. So until we’re there, I think there’s a hard place to say we have huge progress.”
DeGeneres also expressed concern over recent moves in the United States targeting LGBTQ+ rights, particularly efforts by the Southern Baptist Convention to reverse same-sex marriage protections.
“They’re trying to literally stop it from happening in the future and possibly reverse it,” she said. “Portia and I are already looking into it, and if they do that, we’re going to get married here.”
DeGeneres’ statement yet to get response
The White House has not responded to DeGeneres’ remarks.
In addition to political concerns, DeGeneres reflected on the end of her daytime talk show, which ran for 19 seasons and won over 60 Emmy Awards. Addressing the controversy that surrounded its final years, she said: “I’m a direct person, and I’m very blunt, and I guess sometimes that means that,” she paused, “I’m mean?”
Mark Goucher, CEO of the Everyman Theatre, said in a statement: “It was a huge privilege to meet her and have her at The Everyman. Our door will always be open to our new neighbour.”
DeGeneres joins a growing number of Americans disillusioned by their country’s increasingly polarised politics. Google searches for “how to move to X country” spiked following President Joe Biden’s shaky debate performance in June last year, according to data analysed by CNBC.
A February poll by Talker Research found that 17% of 2,000 surveyed Americans wished to leave the country within five years. Canada was the most popular destination, with 69% citing dissatisfaction with the nation’s direction and 65% decrying a toxic environment.
In response to similar sentiments in 2019, Trump said simply: “If you’re not happy, you can leave.”
Though the UK is often praised for its NHS, lower rates of gun violence, and efficient public transport, it ranks lower than the US on many quality-of-life indicators measured by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
In the OECD’s “Better Life Index”, the United States ranks 10th, with the UK coming in at 14th.
