Ellen DeGeneres has written off hundreds of thousands of pounds with a dramatic decision to quit her £15 million dream home in the Cotswolds – and move to an alternative luxury mansion around the corner.
The former talk show superstar is understood to have given up on the mansion she shared with partner Portia De Rossi, 52, following a series of disasters including epic flooding, can reveal.
DeGeneres and her wife bought their 43-acre property last year in the hope that it would be the perfect place to escape the ‘perils’ of Donald Trump’s America.
But the couple have now moved to the safety of higher ground in a spectacular new property which is perched on a hilltop on the edge of a village in Oxfordshire.
It is around a 30 minute drive from their original home and planning documents show it has a ‘sustainable drainage system’ and is not ‘at risk of flooding’.
The couple have recently posted pictures taken around their new home which they are believed to have bought for around £15 million – but there could be issues with their new home too if they haven’t been briefed on the property’s grisly past.
A Cotswolds property expert told us: ‘The house is a real Grand Designs number – and it’s plain that Ellen and Portia are loving it.
‘Everything has been done very discreetly so it’s not clear what the terms of the deal was but it seems that it has recently changed hands for not much less than they paid for their previous place.
‘To buy two properties for eight figure sums in the space of a few months really is unusual, even given the many multi-millionaires around here.
’And at even a conservative estimate it must have cost Ellen hundreds of thousands of pounds in fees and costs to change her mind so dramatically – perhaps millions.’
At the time she first moved to England, DeGeneres – who stepped back from the media spotlight after ending her long-running talk show in 2022 – was so keen to make a quick getaway that she was prepared to pay £2.5 million over than the asking price.
But their new life in the quaint English countryside quickly went dramatically wrong – after the seemingly-idyllic bolthole was swamped by astonishing flooding just days after they moved in.
Dramatic images showed the six bedroomed property had become surrounded by a torrent of flood water following the devastating impact of Storm Bert last November.
The couple were left virtually marooned after a tributary of the River Thames which runs beside the property broke its banks.
Roads surrounding the bolthole were left impassable after being deluged in five feet of water – leaving locals trapped in their homes.
It was the first of a series of setbacks for the couple, who are both retired, as they struggled to fit into their new country life.
They found themselves in something of a tight spot after discovering their vintage Land Rover Defender was barely wide enough to squeeze through bollards which restricted the width of vehicles entering their local village.
Locals reported that the couple had taken to making a detour of a mile-and-a half to get round the issue.
Last month it was reported that the couple were planning to leave the mansion and were looking for other properties in the area.
But the move seems to have gone down well with both.
Just this week, DeGeneres gave fans their first glimpse of her new home.
The comedian posted an image on Instagram of Portia surveying the spectacular view from their new property with the image also featuring a rainbow.
Describing the ‘three things which make me happy’ to her 136 million followers she wrote: ‘My wife, a rainbow and my wife taking a photograph of a rainbow.’
She also recently shared videos of the couple’s growing family of chickens that they keep at the grounds.
Amidst all this sunshine it’s unclear however if the couple are aware of the dark backstory of their new hideaway – their stylish new mansion was built near the site of an old farmhouse where a man was murdered.
Our source told us: ‘The murder was a few years ago now and it was quite a grim one so for people around here who have long memories the place will always be notorious.
‘And just because they demolished the old place, anyone who has grown up around here will always say: “Oh that’s where the murder was.”’
After the murder, the farmhouse stood empty for many years before it was finally sold as a derelict building only fit for redevelopment to a local architect for almost £2million.
Planning permission was granted demolish the farmhouse and erect a ‘replacement dwelling’ with associated buildings and for the surrounding site to be landscaped.
The minimalist single-storey house features floor-to-ceiling windows offering breathtaking panoramic views of the Cotswolds – that can also be enjoyed by a giant outdoor infinity pool.
The modern home with 10,000 square feet of living space has its own cinema, gym and steam room as well as a huge open plan kitchen and lounge area with a hanging fireplace as a striking feature.
The massive master bedroom has a huge walk-in wardrobe and two en-suite bathrooms while four further bedrooms are also en-suite.
More than 1,000 trees have been planted on the surrounding estate to help reduce the noise.
Ellen had previously made light of her flooding issues saying the waters had been kept at bay from entering her home – despite this apparently eventually forcing her to decide to move.
In the run up to Christmas she went on to post footage of a visit to the property from ‘a holiday swan-a-swimming’.
Ellen added: ‘Please note, the swan- a-swimming was swimming in our river meadow. Not our house.’
According to US magazine People, DeGeneres is a well-known collector of ‘multi-million dollar homes’ including a £24 million ($32 million) property in Montecito where Harry and Meghan live.
In 2023 she told one US outlet that she had bought and sold ‘over 50 houses’ including a house in Malibu that once belonged to Brad Pitt.
Earlier this year it was reported that she had put two homes in Montecito on the market which are thought to be among her last remaining properties in California.