Roughly eight months after moving to the UK, former daytime TV host Ellen DeGeneres confirmed on Sunday that the reelection of Donald Trump was the deciding factor in the move.
TheWrap exclusively reported the news of her move back in November, with a person close to the former TV host saying that she and her wife Portia De Rossi are “never coming back” after Trump got back into the White House. Speaking to British broadcaster Richard Bacon in her first public appearance since the move on Sunday, the comedian confirmed the choice herself.
“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, according to the BBC. “And we’re like, ‘We’re staying here.’”
The move was originally meant to be a “part-time” one, according to DeGeneres, as she and De Rossi planned to spend a few months a year in the UK. But, since making it a permanent residence, DeGeneres has been happy with her decision.
“It’s clean. Everything here is just better – the way animals are treated, people are polite,” she said. “I just love it here.”
DeGeneres and her wife opted for a house in the Cotswolds, and have since brought over their animals, including horses, chickens and, briefly, sheep.
The comedian also noted that efforts to infringe on the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in the United States are something she and her wife are keeping an eye on, and have a contingency plan for.
“The Baptist Church in America is trying to reverse gay marriage,” she 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.”
