A year after relocating to the English countryside due to President Donald Trump’s election win, Ellen DeGeneres has purchased a $27.4 million estate in Montecito, California.
This move has intensified speculation about whether her overseas experiment is already drawing to a close.
DeGeneres and her wife, Portia de Rossi, closed on the California home in late November through a trust long associated with the comedian’s real-estate holdings, according to Realtor.com.
The off-market deal was completed roughly a year after the couple relocated to the Cotswolds, where they initially planned to spend only part of the year.
Just a year after decamping to the UK, Ellen DeGeneres is already signaling a move back toward the US, snapping up a $27.4 million off-market mansion in Montecito — the same enclave where she and wife Portia de Rossi lived for years before relocating abroad. NORTH-SUNSET / BACKGRID
The late-November purchase, from producer Brian Grazer, comes as the couple’s UK farmhouse in the Cotswolds has quietly sat on the market for six months, fueling speculation that their overseas chapter may already be winding down. Ellen DeGeneres /Instagram
The Montecito property, which was acquired from producer Brian Grazer, marks DeGeneres’ first major US purchase since the move — and comes as her primary UK residence remains listed for sale.
The juxtaposition has prompted renewed questions about whether the couple’s future is ultimately anchored in Southern California rather than the English countryside.
DeGeneres has been one of Hollywood’s most active high-end property investors for more than two decades, frequently buying, renovating and reselling estates at substantial profits.
While DeGeneres initially embraced life in England — buying two properties, fast-tracking renovations and publicly praising the countryside lifestyle — the new California acquisition suggests a pivot back stateside. Google Maps
That approach continued overseas. Since arriving in England, the couple has purchased two rural properties, including a historic farmhouse that underwent an accelerated renovation before they moved on to a more modern home nearby.
“When we decided to live here full time, we knew that Portia couldn’t live without her horses,” DeGeneres previously told the Wall Street Journal. “We needed a home that had a horse facility and pastures for them.”
Despite that commitment, the first farmhouse, set on 43 acres, has been on the market for roughly six months.
The move is especially notable given that DeGeneres sold most of her other California holdings after the relocation, making this her first major US purchase since leaving. Sotheby’s International Realty
Listing materials describe a sweeping estate designed around a landscaped courtyard, with multiple reception rooms and an emphasis on indoor-outdoor flow.
The property was marketed after the couple determined it no longer suited their needs, according to The Journal, even after an extensive renovation effort that dramatically compressed the original construction timeline.
The decision to list the England home has coincided with DeGeneres’ return to familiar territory in Montecito, where she and de Rossi lived for years before moving abroad.
The newly acquired estate sits on roughly 3 acres behind gates and hedges, offering a secluded compound that includes a main residence and two guest cottages.
DeGeneres previously posted photos of her Cotswolds pad, currently on the market. Instagram / @ellendegeneres
Grazer purchased the property in 2012 for $7.6 million and later completed the primary residence in 2015.
Because the sale was conducted privately, images of the home have not been released, and it remains unclear whether DeGeneres intends to use the property as a primary residence or hold it as an investment.
Reps for DeGeneres did not return The Post’s request for comment.
In recent years, she has pared back her California portfolio, selling several high-profile estates, including a Carpinteria property that fetched $96 million last summer.
Ellen DeDeneres shared this photo of her and wife Portia de Rossi in the UK in celebration of their 20th anniversary together back in December 2024, when they first moved there. @ellendegeneres/Instagram
Publicly, DeGeneres has spoken candidly about the circumstances surrounding the couple’s move overseas, including the political climate at the time.
“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,’” she said at a July event at Everyman Theatre in England. “And we’re like, ‘We’re staying here.’”
She has also expressed enthusiasm for aspects of life in the UK.
“We moved here in November, which was not the ideal time, but I saw snow for the first time in my life,” she said. “We love it here.”
“Everything here is just better — the way animals are treated, people are polite. I just love it here.”