Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi changed California living for the postcard-perfect villages and honey-stone charm of the Cotswolds. The couple who left Hollywood behind chose a slow, countryside life in rural England. And while all these sound dreamy, there is a far less romantic situation dimming their joy as relentless rain and flash flooding transform their perfect green landscape into waterlogged terrain.
Ellen and Portia relocated to the United Kingdom following Donald Trump’s second presidential election. And while the couple’s move was framed as a lifestyle reset, the Cotswolds, which is long associated with privacy and understated luxury, surprised them by hitting their 43-acre retreat with a flooding so severe that huge sections of land were submerged and difficult to access.
© GettyLocals even described a stark contrast between expectation and reality. One resident said, “It has been absolutely bleak. It’s a beautiful area, but the weather has just been a nightmare, and it’s only going to get worse.”
© Backgrid/The Grosby GroupCharm Meets Challenge
Despite the recent events, the Cotswolds remain one of the UK’s most desirable rural locations, mainly because of its slower pace of life, historic architecture, and a strong sense of community. However, winter conditions can be harsh.
Recent storms have reportedly brought 80mph winds and heavy rainfall, causing rivers to swell and fields to flood. As another local put it, “The English countryside is a long way from Los Angeles. I doubt they were prepared for this sort of thing.”
© Backgrid/The Grosby GroupAnd while the image of celebrities navigating muddy paths in Wellington boots is not common, Ellen and Portia have had experience with weather challenges. In 2023, many celebrity homes in Montecito were given an evacuation order after at least 12 people were killed.
Montecito and the surrounding canyon communities in Southern Santa Barbara County, were the homes of Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Oprah, Rob Lowe, Adam Levine, Gwyneth Paltrow, and George Lucas, which were also among the celebrities going through the situation, per TMZ.
© GrosbyGroupDeGeneres shared a video highlighting the dangerous situation, even showing a water-filled creek that she stated normally never flows. “This is the 5th anniversary of the fire and mudslides that killed so many people, and people lost their homes, their lives,” she said in front of the raging water.
“This is crazy that on the 5-year anniversary we are having unprecedented rain. This creek next to our house never flows, ever, it’s probably about 9 feet up, and it’s going to go another 2 feet up. We have horses ready to evacuate. We need to be nicer to mother nature because mother nature is not happy with us. Let’s all do our part. Stay safe everybody,” the retired host continued.
