Why Ellen Degeneres chose to move to UK rather than Australia

Ellen DeGeneres and her wife, Ally McBeal and Arrested Development star Portia de Rossi, have reportedly opened up about the reason why they chose to move to the UK instead of Australia.

The couple have bought a home in the Cotswolds, which includes a helicopter pad and swimming pool, after leaving their home in Montecito, California. According to New Idea, Ellen DeGeneres said that the UK was chosen because of her comedy career.

“Ellen wants to continue with her comedy work, and there is a huge scene in Britain,” a source said. “Sitting back and chilling on a beach in Australia is for when she’s ready to retire. Ellen’s not there yet.”

The couple reportedly told friends that the move was motivated by Donald Trump being re-elected as president. They were big supporters of the Kamala Harris campaign and vowed to “get the hell out” of the US and never return after the Republicans won back the White House.

Ellen DeGeneres shared her endorsement for the Democrats in August, writing: “There’s nothing more powerful than a woman whose time has come, I can’t wait for Kamala Harris to be our next president.”

Although their Cotswolds property was bought prior to November’s election, it was their disillusionment after Trump’s win that persuaded then to make the move permanent. The property in Montecito will apparently be sold.

At the beginning of December, DeGeneres was forced to respond to claims that her new Cotswolds house has been hit by the “worst flooding in years”, after the area was hit by Storm Bert.

One local, who allegedly lives near the couple in the South West region, told MailOnline that “flood waters are rising by the hour”. They added: “This is the worst I have seen it in years.”

However, in a 1 December Instagram post celebrating 20 years together as a couple, the former Ellen Show host denied such claims. “P.S. for those of you concerned, our UK farmhouse did NOT flood,” she wrote. 

The couple, who were married in 2008, have already been spotted out and about in the Cotswolds in England’s south west, with an Instagram video posted last week showing them at a pub with singers Natalie Imbruglia and James Blunt, enjoying a live acoustic performance by The Corrs.

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