When Ellen DeGeneres and her wife Portia de Rossi packed their belongings and left the United States for the United Kingdom, the decision was widely interpreted as a response to the turbulence surrounding American politics.
Ellen herself, according to those close to her, had become disillusioned by the direction of the country, especially after Donald Trump’s rise and return to political influence.
Friends recall her saying she needed distance — not just from public scrutiny, but from an environment she felt had shifted dramatically. “I just can’t breathe here anymore,” she reportedly said at the time.
For Ellen, the move to the UK was meant to serve as an escape. After decades in the center of American entertainment, years of controversy surrounding her show’s final seasons, and the political climate she found increasingly stressful, the decision felt like a clean break. Many assumed she had found the quiet life she longed for: less noise, fewer cameras, and a world far removed from the headlines that followed her in the United States.
But now, nearly a year later, Ellen is reportedly expressing deep regret. Sources close to her claim she has quietly confided that she wants to return to the U.S. — even going as far as to say she is “begging” for the opportunity to come back and undo the choice she once felt so certain about. Her admission, “Moving out was a mistake,” captures the seriousness and weight of that realization.
From the beginning, Ellen underestimated how dramatically uprooting herself would affect her. The political frustration that pushed her away from America eased once she left, but what replaced it was not peace. It was absence — the absence of familiarity, community, and identity. Ellen had spent more than four decades building her life, career, and sense of self in the United States. Leaving it entirely created an emotional vacuum she didn’t anticipate.
The UK offered serenity, but it also offered a kind of isolation she was unprepared for. The countryside that initially seemed charming soon became a place where days blurred together in silence. Neighbors were kind but distant. Social circles were reserved, and integrating into them proved far more challenging than she imagined. For someone who built her career on connection, humor, and engagement, the stillness was suffocating rather than soothing.
The weather played its own role. Having spent most of her life in sun-soaked California, the cold, damp, and often sunless British climate began to chip away at her emotional well-being. Friends say she struggled with the winter months especially, describing them as “dark in a way that wasn’t just about the sky.” Seasonal gloom soon turned into a deeper form of introspection, one that forced her to confront why she had left — and what she truly needed to feel whole.
Yet the most profound realization came not from the external environment, but from within. Leaving the U.S. in reaction to Trump-era politics felt righteous at the time. Ellen felt exhausted by the division, the hostility, and the constant cultural tension. She wanted space from the political battles she felt were poisoning public discourse and intruding into daily life. But once abroad, she recognized something she had not fully understood before: she hadn’t just left politics — she had left her life.
Friends describe her reckoning as slow, steady, and painful. While political frustration had pushed her out, it was the emotional emptiness that pushed her to reconsider. She began thinking more about the people she missed, the routines that grounded her, the familiar spaces she had walked through for years, and the simple comfort of knowing she was home. Over time, the political reasons that drove her away lost their power. What mattered instead was the realization that she had abandoned a part of herself.
Sources explain that Ellen’s regret became impossible to ignore. “She didn’t leave the U.S. because she stopped loving it,” one close friend shared. “She left because she felt overwhelmed. But distance doesn’t always heal — sometimes it just exposes what you value most.”
Portia, who tried to adapt to their new life with grace, reportedly felt the strain as well. The couple found themselves more alone than they had been in years. While they cherished privacy, the complete lack of a support system became a burden neither anticipated.
Friends say Ellen often spoke about missing the spontaneity of American culture, the energy of Los Angeles, even the chaotic unpredictability of American politics — frustrations and all. “At least it felt alive,” she reportedly told a friend.
In recent months, Ellen has begun expressing a desire not just to return, but to rebuild. The regret she feels is described as sober and sincere. She no longer wants distance. She wants reconnection — to her longtime community, to her work, to the identity she left behind.
Her team is reportedly exploring the steps necessary for a return: securing property, reestablishing legal residence, and deciding how she might reenter public life. Industry insiders emphasize that any return to entertainment would likely be measured and reflective — not a revival of her former talk show, but perhaps smaller, more thoughtful creative work that aligns with the introspection she has experienced abroad.
The emotional core of Ellen’s regret lies in the recognition that leaving to escape political division did not deliver the peace she imagined. Instead, it cost her the grounding that only familiarity and belonging can provide. The political climate may have driven her away, but the longing for home — and the understanding of its deeper meaning — is what is pulling her back.
Ellen’s reported admission, “Moving out was a mistake,” reflects a moment of clarity that transcends politics. It speaks to the universal human need for connection, stability, and identity. It speaks to the truth that no matter how broken a home might feel during moments of turmoil, it remains home nonetheless.
And now, after months of reflection, distance, and emotional reckoning, Ellen appears ready to return — not because America has changed, but because she has.