Ellen DeGeneres has made headlines recently for her decision to make the U.K. her permanent home following Donald Trump’s re-election as U.S. President. In her first public appearance since leaving the U.S. last year, the talk show host revealed that she and her wife, Portia de Rossi, made the decision to settle in the U.K. the day after Trump secured his second term in office in November 2024.
“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’,” DeGeneres shared during an on-stage conversation with U.K. host Richard Bacon, as reported by the BBC. “And we’re like, ‘We’re staying here.'”
Despite the circumstances that led to her relocation, DeGeneres had nothing but praise for her new home, describing life in the U.K. as “better” compared to the U.S.
“It’s absolutely beautiful,” she expressed. “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 continued, “It’s clean. Everything here is just better — the way animals are treated, people are polite. I just love it here.”
DeGeneres also addressed concerns about the potential reversal of same-sex marriage laws in the U.S., revealing that she and de Rossi were considering getting married again in the U.K. if such changes were to occur.
“The Baptist Church in America is trying to reverse gay marriage,” she explained. “They’re trying to literally stop it from happening in the future and possibly reverse it. Portia and I are already looking into it, and if they do that, we’re going to get married here.”
During her conversation with Bacon, DeGeneres also touched on the controversy surrounding allegations of a toxic workplace culture on her U.S. talk show and being labeled as “mean” by some press outlets.
“It’s as simple as, I’m a direct person, and I’m very blunt, and I guess sometimes that means that… I’m mean?,” she acknowledged. “I don’t think I can say anything that’s ever going to get rid of that [reputation] or dispel it, which is hurtful to me. I hate it. I hate that people think that I’m that because I know who I am and I know that I’m an empathetic, compassionate person.”
Despite the challenges she has faced, DeGeneres admitted that it was “certainly an unpleasant way to end” her talk show. The move to the U.K. seems to have provided her with a fresh start and a new perspective on life, as she embraces the beauty and simplicity that the country has to offer.
