Ellen DeGeneres’s idyllic Cotswolds farmhouse has once again fallen victim to flooding, just five months after the American TV star listed it for a hefty £22.5 million.
The renowned host, alongside her wife, actress Portia De Rossi, invested in the expansive Kitesbridge Farm estate—boasting seven bedrooms—for £15 million in June 2024 and settled there by November.
However, their stay was short-lived as Storm Bert soon enveloped the property in floodwaters, prompting the couple to reconsider their residence and seek a more elevated location.
In response, they put the 43-acre estate in Asthall, Oxfordshire, up for sale this past July at a significant mark-up of 50%, asking for £22.5 million, yet it has remained on the market.
Recent images reveal the estate is facing flooding issues once more, as the River Windrush, a tributary of the River Thames, overflowed during Storm Claudia.
Meanwhile, DeGeneres and De Rossi have relocated to a new £25 million home elsewhere in the Cotswolds, where they’ve settled comfortably since.
Ellen did a one-woman show in Cheltenham in July during which she told the audience that the initial Cotswolds farmhouse in Asthall was now up for sale.
One day later it was revealed she had put the property in the rolling countryside on the market with Sotheby’s International estate agents for £22.5million.
Flooding surrounds Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi’s farmhouse in the Cotswolds today
Flooding around the seven-bedroom Kitesbridge Farm estate in Asthall, Oxfordshire, today
Flooding today after a tributary of the River Thames called the River Windrush burst its banks
American former talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and her wife Portia De Rossi in the Cotswolds
Ellen had interior decorating work and some landscaping done, but one estate agent said at the time that the listing was at ‘an absolutely crazy price’.
They also pointed out that she had bought the home for £2.5million over the asking price of £12.5million – so £10million had been added to the price in a year.
When the flooding happened on surrounding fields last November, Ellen wrote on Instagram: ‘For those of you concerned, our UK farmhouse did NOT flood.’
She previously told how she decided to settle in the Cotswolds the day after Donald Trump was re-elected US President because life ‘is just better’ in the UK.
But The Mail on Sunday revealed yesterday that Ellen had told friends she and her wife are planning to spend more time in sunny California because they ‘miss their friends’ and dread the thought of another British winter.
A source said: ‘Ellen was adamant that she and Portia were going to stay in the UK while Trump was in the White House, but evidently she’s changed her mind somewhat.
The seven-bedroom home went on sale in July with Sotheby’s International estate agents
The for-sale price of £22.5million is a 50 per cent increase on the £15million asking price
Ellen bought the home for £15million last year, which was £2.5million over the asking price
Ellen had interior decorating work done on the home and there was also some landscaping
LAST NOVEMBER: Flooding previously affected fields around the home in November last year
‘She’s been telling friends they are coming home soon because they miss them and can’t take the winters over there, and Portia wants to act again. They will be here for the holidays and longer by the sound of it.’
The couple, who married in 2008, now live in a hilltop mansion with enough land to keep horses. They also have two puppies, Sport and Jinx, and their older dog, Kid.
Ellen and her wife have been spotted in local pubs including The Farmer’s Dog in Burford, owned by Jeremy Clarkson, and The Falkland Arms in Great Tew, Oxfordshire.
But the source added: ‘Ellen was very clear that they’re coming back to California sooner rather than later. They miss the warm weather and their friends.’
Ellen previously explained her transatlantic move by saying: ‘We got here [to the UK] 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’. And we’re like, ‘We’re staying here’.’
She also referenced her fears that ‘the Baptist Church in America is trying to reverse gay marriage’. Ms DeGeneres made history when she came out as a lesbian in 1997 in her sitcom Ellen.
The couple have moved to a new property (above) which is perched on a hilltop in Oxfordshire
Ellen photographed her wife as they looked out at a double rainbow from the new property
She later hosted her eponymous talk show, which ended in 2022 amid accusations of bullying and a toxic on-set environment.
Ellen issued a written apology to staff and made an on-air statement, but later claimed the scandal felt ‘misogynistic’ and ‘too orchestrated, too coordinated’.
She described the controversy as ‘devastating’ but, in a 2024 Netflix special, For Your Approval, joked that she ‘got kicked out of show business’ for being ‘mean’.
The TV star built a fortune before her move to England, flipping homes in Montecito, California, a wealthy enclave where she counted the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as neighbours.
In March it was reported that the couple had liquidated their California real estate holdings, selling a small investment property for $5.2million.
A source close to the presenter has denied the move back to America was permanent. They confirmed the couple were returning there for the holidays but declined to disclose how long the visit would last.
