Ellen DeGeneres sells one of her last homes in the US after moving to England
Ellen DeGeneres is saying farewell to another of her homes in the United States.
The former talk show host and her wife, Portia de Rossi, moved to England in November, leaving their star-studded lives in Hollywood behind.
As part of their move to the English countryside, they’ve now sold their home in Montecito, California, which was listed for $4.99 million earlier this month. On March 20, the property went into escrow.
A representative for Riskin Partners Estate Group, who curated the sale of DeGeneres’ home, told People that the property has been sold for $5.2 million. The sale came after the real estate company received “multiple offers within two days of hitting the market.”
The property, located in the same neighborhood as Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, is 1,691 square feet with two bedrooms and two full bathrooms, according to its listing. Following renovations in 2012, the residence transformed from a “well-worn cottage into a modern beach bungalow.”
The space has “sophisticated interiors and a lush, tropical environment,” which offers “a wonderful backdrop for contemporary coastal living.”
According to the listing, “the spa-like primary bath is a tranquil retreat” with two floor-to-ceiling windows and bi-folding walls that open to a private courtyard.
DeGeneres and de Rossi first purchased the home in 2021 for $2.9 million, according to Architectural Digest. At the time, the home was the third property in Montecito that the couple bought within a year.
The pair’s decision to sell the house comes months after they moved to their new residence in the Cotswolds. In November, they were spotted enjoying an intimate live music session, featuring singer Natalie Imbruglia, at Jeremy Clarkson’s pub The Farmer’s Dog.
Weeks later, DeGeneres also responded to reports that her home in England had flooded due to Storm Bert, which brought days of torrential rain and wind speeds of up to 80mph.
On December 1, DeGeneres posted a selfie with de Rossi in front of a typical British countryside scene on their anniversary.
“20 years ago today we began this relationship not realizing what a long beautiful adventure this would be,” she wrote in the caption. “My best friend. The love of my life. Thank you for being you and loving me. So happy we get to travel and explore the world together in the next 20 years, and looking forward to our first snowy Christmas. P.S. for those of you concerned, our UK farmhouse did NOT flood.”
DeGeneres’s move also came two years after The Ellen DeGeneres Show — which ran for 19 seasons — wrapped in May 2022, following allegations of a toxic workplace environment that surfaced in 2020. The controversy began with a July 2020 BuzzFeed News report, where current and former employees anonymously shared troubling accounts, including claims of being penalized for taking medical leave, racial microaggressions, and fears of retaliation for raising complaints.
In the Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval, a comedy special that came out in September, DeGeneres spoke out about the controversy that led to the end of her Hollywood career.
“Let me see what else I can tell you about that’s been going on…Oh yeah, I got kicked out of show business,” she said. “Here’s the problem. I’m a comedian who got a talk show and I ended the show everyday by saying ‘Be kind to one another.’ Had I ended my show by saying ‘Go f*** yourselves,’ people would’ve been pleasantly surprised to find out I’m kind.”
