Ellen DeGeneres has further fueled rumors of a return to the U.S. following her move to the U.K. after celebrating her 68th birthday in what appears to be her new $27.4 million California mansion.
The comedian marked the special day on Jan. 26 alongside her wife, Portia de Rossi, but noted that the celebrations were somewhat bittersweet, describing it as a “tough” time in her life amid ongoing political upheaval in her home nation.
“It’s a tough day to feel like celebrating a birthday. I’m holding space for what’s happening in our world and holding close what I’m grateful for. Like my wife. And cookies,” she wrote while sharing a selfie that shows her posing with her arm around her spouse, who is chewing on a chocolate chip cookie.
Interestingly, however, the property seen behind the couple does not appear to be their lavish glass-walled mansion in the U.K., but rather the sun-soaked estate in Montecito that they quietly snapped up for $27.4 million at the end of 2025.
While much of Britain—including the Cotswolds, where DeGeneres and de Rossi own two extravagant farmhouses—has been battered by cloudy weather and rain in recent days, the on-screen star’s photo shows a sun-soaked background and, judging by their ensembles, balmy temperatures.
Days earlier, DeGeneres shared another social media post captured on the porch of the same property, this time a video in which she shared her thoughts on the events unfolding in Minneapolis in which American nurse Alex Pretti was shot dead in the city by ICE agents on Jan. 24.
The video, which was captioned, “Minneapolis, I love you,” saw DeGeneres standing in front of a sprawling property, with large glass windows that provide easy access to the outdoors, dark wood flooring, white painted columns, dark-toned couches, a colorful rug, and patterned ceilings.
DeGeneres’ filming location is a far cry from the hilltop glass mansion that she and de Rossi purchased as their second U.K. home, having made the decision to make their relocation to the country permanent in light of President Donald Trump‘s victory in the 2024 election.
The first home purchased by the couple, a much more traditional stone farmhouse, was put on the market for $30 million after they relocated to the second abode—although Realtor.com® exclusively revealed earlier this month that the property had quietly been delisted.
Meanwhile, DeGeneres and de Rossi threw themselves back into the California housing market with gusto when they snapped up a sprawling Montecito estate that was previously owned by Hollywood producer Brian Grazer.
Property records viewed by Realtor.com show that the couple purchased the home through a trust managed by DeGeneres’ longtime business manager, Harley J. Neuman.
That same trust was used when DeGeneres bought a sprawling Carpenteria, CA, estate in 2022, which she later sold for a staggering $96 million in August 2024, months before she and de Rossi moved to the Cotswolds.
DeGeneres has not yet commented on the claims that she and de Rossi plan to spend more time in the U.S. moving forward—nor has she revealed why she removed her first U.K. dwelling from the market.
The comedian previously gushed about her new life overseas, stating that “everything was better” in the U.K., from the scenery to the people.
“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 explained at an event in July. “And we’re like, ‘We’re staying here.'”
She then proceeded to gush about their new life in the U.K.
“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,” she said. “Portia flew her horses here, and I have chickens, and we had sheep for about two weeks.
“Everything here is just better—the way animals are treated, people are polite. I just love it here.”
However, their move was not without its difficulties. The property that the duo first moved into was a historical farmhouse that they gut-renovated to turn into a more modern sanctuary.
They would ultimately live in the property for a matter of weeks before snapping up another, much more modern glass-walled abode a few miles away, which DeGeneres later revealed was much better suited to their needs.
“When we decided to live here full time, we knew that Portia couldn’t live without her horses,” DeGeneres told The Wall Street Journal. “We needed a home that had a horse facility and pastures for them.”
The couple then put their first property on the market for $30 million—around $10 million more than they had paid for the dwelling—before removing it earlier this month.
The listing, which was held by Andrew Barnes and Marcus O’Brien of Sotheby’s International Realty, touted the property’s many positive attributes, including its “43 acres of rolling Cotswold countryside.”
“The main house unfolds around a central landscaped courtyard, a lovely focal point that brings light and flow to the interiors,” the description stated.
“A series of generous reception rooms overlook this space, creating a seamless link between indoors and out. Designed for both grand-scale entertaining and relaxing, the layout combines sharp architectural detail with a contemporary eye for volume, proportion, and finish.”
In a past listing, the property was described as “an eco-farmhouse with the perfect modern rustic interior.” However, one of DeGeneres and de Rossi’s listing agents noted that the farm was somewhat “tired” when the couple purchased it.
But that didn’t stop DeGeneres from falling in love with the home—reportedly paying around $3.3 million over the asking price to secure the dwelling, then enlisting a team of 70 workers to rush through renovations so it would be ready for her and de Rossi as soon as possible.
The Wall Street Journal reported that DeGeneres and de Rossi were originally given an 18-month timeline in which contractors believed the renovations could be completed—so they brought in “about 70 workers” who were able to finish the work in about 10 weeks.