The cause why Ellen DeGeneres and spouse Portia de Rossi snubbed Australia for England… as their multi-million-pound Cotswolds house is hit by flooding simply weeks after transferring in
Ellen DeGeneres and wife Portia de Rossi recently decided to move from California to the English countryside instead of the actress’ home country Australia.
The couple were reportedly prepared to pay £2.5million more than the asking price for their new property in the Cotswolds which includes a helicopter pad and swimming pool.
And now the reason why Ellen decided to relocate to the UK instead of Down Under has been revealed.
According to New Idea, the 66-year-old comedian moved to England to focus on her comedy career.
‘Ellen wants to continue with her comedy work, and there is a huge scene in Britain,’ a source told the publication.
‘Sitting back and chilling on a beach in Australia is for when she’s ready to retire and Ellen’s not there yet.’
Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi (both pictured) recently decided to move from California to the English countryside instead of Australia
US media reported last month that Ellen and Portia, who donated money to Kamala Harris’s doomed election campaign, decided to ‘get the hell out’ of the US after Donald Trump’s victory, apparently vowing to never return.
They are said to be delighted with their new property, which was originally built as a farmhouse, and converted 15 years ago into a modern luxury home with six bedrooms and four bathrooms.
However, their new multi-million-pound home in the Cotswolds was hit by flooding shortly after they moved in.
Dramatic images at the end of November showed the area around their 43-acre home swamped by floodwater after being battered by days of torrential rain and winds of up to 80mph in Storm Bert.
Roads were left impassable under up to 5ft of water after a tributary of the River Thames beside their property broke its banks, leaving locals trapped in their homes.
Their new house includes a gym, games rooms and separate offices with a one-bedroom cottage and five-bay garage in its grounds.
But it is still said to retain its old-world charm, with outlying barns connected to the main building via glazed passageways.
A source in the Cotswolds said: ‘It really is a beautiful house. It’s so quintessentially English which, as Americans, they have fallen in love with – although they can forget about any glamorous southern California nightlife and weather.
According to New Idea, Ellen moved to England to focus on her career after she went off the air after her show was accused of being quite toxic and she was labelled as ‘mean’
‘The area itself is very quiet – some might even say boring, as there’s not much to do – especially in the colder months, but there are lots of celebrities in the area.’
Other big names with homes in the Cotswolds include David and Victoria Beckham, Kate Moss, Patrick Stewart, Elizabeth Hurley and Damien Hirst.
Ellen’s career had been tarnished by claims that she fostered a toxic workplace on the set of her eponymous daytime talk show, which aired its last episode on May 26, 2022.
She delved into her persona non grata status in her stand-up special For Your Approval, which was released on Netflix in late September.
The comedian joked that she had been ‘kicked out of show business’ in the special, which featured material about how she has been spending her time since the end of her TV show.
