US comedian tells Cheltenham audience she’s staying permanently as concerns grow over same-sex marriage rights in America
Ellen DeGeneres has made her first public appearance since moving to the UK, confirming she decided to settle permanently in England the day after Donald Trump was re-elected US president.
The 67-year-old comedian and former chat show host told a packed audience at the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, on Sunday that life “is just better” in the UK. Speaking in conversation with broadcaster Richard Bacon, DeGeneres revealed she and wife Portia de Rossi are considering remarrying in England amid growing threats to same-sex marriage rights in America.
When Bacon asked whether reports that she moved because of Donald Trump were correct, DeGeneres simply replied: “Yes.
Permanent Move Triggered by Election
The couple had initially planned to spend three or four months a year in their Cotswolds home, treating it as “a part-time house. However, Trump’s victory changed everything.
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 told the audience. “And we’re like, ‘We’re staying here’.”
DeGeneres, who ended her 19-year run as host of The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2022, completed what she called her “final stand-up tour” in the US in 2024 before purchasing property in the historic Cotswolds region.
Praise for British Life
The comedian was effusive about her new home, describing the UK countryside with genuine enthusiasm. “It’s absolutely beautiful,” she said. “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 added: “It’s clean. Everything here is just better – the way animals are treated, people are polite. I just love it here.”
Despite arriving during less than ideal weather conditions, DeGeneres found joy in the experience. We moved here in November, which was not the ideal time, but I saw snow for the first time in my life. We love it here. Portia flew her horses here, and I have chickens, and we had sheep for about two weeks.”
The sheep, she admitted with characteristic humour, had to be sold after they kept escaping.
Same-Sex Marriage Concerns
DeGeneres expressed serious concerns about the future of LGBTQ+ rights in America, particularly regarding same-sex marriage. Southern Baptist delegates at their national meeting overwhelmingly endorsed a ban on same-sex marriage — including a call for a reversal of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 10-year-old precedent legalizing it nationwide.
“The Baptist Church in America is trying to reverse gay marriage,” DeGeneres said. “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.”
The Southern Baptist Convention, America’s largest Protestant denomination, passed the resolution in June 2025 at their annual meeting in Dallas. The wide-ranging resolution doesn’t use the word “ban,” but it left no room for legal same-sex marriage in calling for the “overturning of laws and court rulings, including Obergefell v.
At least nine state legislatures have introduced bills opposing same-sex marriage, marking a significant shift in American politics on LGBTQ+ rights.
Reflections on Coming Out
DeGeneres reflected on her groundbreaking decision to come out as gay in 1997, which effectively ended her sitcom after advertisers pulled out and the network stopped promoting it. When asked whether her visibility had encouraged others to come out, she was surprisingly pessimistic.
“I would say no,” she replied. “I imagined a lot of people coming out like meerkats poking out of a hole and going back in again. ‘How’s she doing? OK, no, no.'”
She noted that being gay in Hollywood “is still a problem” despite some progress. “If it was [better], all these other people that are actors and actresses that I know they’re gay, they’d be out, but they’re not, because it’s still a problem. People are still scared.”
Looking to the future, she expressed hope: “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.”
Addressing Workplace Allegations
DeGeneres also addressed the toxic workplace allegations that contributed to her show’s cancellation in 2022. Following reports from former employees about a hostile work environment, three producers were sacked amid allegations of misconduct and sexual harassment.
“No matter what, any article that came up, it was like, ‘She’s mean’, and it’s like, how do I deal with this without sounding like a victim or ‘poor me’ or complaining? But I wanted to address it,” she said.
The comedian acknowledged being “very blunt” but pushed back against the characterisation. “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 also pointed out what she sees as a gender double standard: “It’s kind of crazy that saying someone is mean can be the worst thing that you say about a woman. How dare us have any kind of mood, or you can’t be anything other than nice and sweet and kind and submissive and complacent.”
The reputation clearly still stings. “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.”
Future Plans Uncertain
When asked about potential future projects, DeGeneres expressed interest in British television but doubted traditional formats would work in the current media landscape.
“I mean, I wish it did, because I would do the same thing here. I would love to do that again, but I just feel like people are watching on their phones, or people aren’t really paying attention as much to televisions, because we’re so inundated with information and entertainment.”
She admitted to feeling “a little bit bored” despite enjoying her chickens, and said she would pick her next move “very carefully”. “I just don’t know what that is yet. I want to have fun, I want to do something.”
A New Chapter
DeGeneres’s move represents a significant shift for one of America’s most recognisable television personalities. For three decades, she was a fixture on US screens through her sitcom, her long-running daytime chat show, hosting major awards ceremonies including the Oscars, Grammys and Emmys, and voicing the beloved character Dory in Finding Nemo.
Now, she’s embracing a quieter life in the English countryside, sharing glimpses on social media of her rural existence – from farm animals to stunning countryside vistas. Her move comes at a time of significant political and social upheaval in America, with LGBTQ+ rights increasingly under threat.
As DeGeneres settles into her new life, her departure serves as a stark reminder of the changing landscape for LGBTQ+ Americans, even those with considerable wealth and fame. Her decision to make the UK her permanent home reflects not just personal preference, but genuine concern about the direction of her homeland.
“So until we’re there, I think there’s a hard place to say we have huge progress,” she concluded about LGBTQ+ rights in America, before noting that the younger generation’s more fluid approach to sexuality gives her hope: “So I think the younger generation is going to show us the way.”
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Image Credit:
Ellen DeGeneres, 2011 – Photo by Greg Hernandez, licensed under CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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