The comedian initially planned to live in England part-time, but said Trump's re-election inspired her and wife Portia de Rossi to stay year-round

NEED TO KNOW

• Ellen DeGeneres permanently relocated to the U.K. because of Donald Trump, she confirmed in a July 20 appearance

• DeGeneres and wife Portia de Rossi initially planned to live in the U.K. part-time, but decided to stay year-round after Trump was re-elected

• The comedian officially moved to the Cotswolds region of England in November 2024

Ellen DeGeneres just confirmed that President Donald Trump inspired her permanent move to the United Kingdom.

Last November, the comedian and former talk show host, 67, and her wife, Portia de Rossi, relocated from the U.S. to the English countryside. In DeGeneres’ first public appearance since moving to the Cotswolds region, she confirmed reports that she and de Rossi, 52, decided to settle across the pond after Trump, 79, was re-elected, per the BBC.

During a live conversation in the English town of Cheltenham on Sunday, July 20, English broadcaster Richard Bacon asked DeGeneres whether reports that Trump played a role in the move are correct, to which she replied, “Yes,” per the BBC.

Initially, the Ellen DeGeneres Show alum thought she and her wife would spend just a portion — three or four months — of the year at their “part-time house” in the U.K., she explained to Bacon at Cheltenham’s Everyman theater. Then, Trump was re-elected.

The couple “got here the day before the election,” DeGeneres recalled, “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.’ ”

In the same appearance, the comedian also raved to Bacon about life in the U.K., according to the BBC.

“It's absolutely beautiful,” the star said, adding that she and de Rossi are “just not used to seeing this kind of beauty. The villages and the towns and the architecture — everything you see is charming and it's just a simpler way of life.”

"We moved here in November, which was not the ideal time, but I saw snow for the first time in my life,” the former California native recalled. “We love it here. Portia flew her horses here, and I have chickens, and we had sheep for about two weeks.”

But it’s not just the natural beauty the couple loves. “Everything here is just better — the way animals are treated, people are polite," DeGeneres said. "I just love it here."

The comedian had relocated to the English countryside last November, after selling her and de Rossi's California estate in August for $96 million, a real estate insider told PEOPLE at the time.

At the time, a source told PEOPLE that DeGeneres “was in England house hunting in the beginning of October,” and “ended up finding a house that she loved and purchased it shortly after.”

Along with de Rossi, DeGeneres has shared glimpses into life since settling across the pond on social media, but did not officially confirm the couple’s reason for moving until the July 20 appearance.

Rumors that it had to do with Trump and his presidency have long swirled online, however — and even inspired a reaction from one of DeGeneres’ fellow comedians, Rosie O’Donnell, who relocated to Dublin in January.

In April, the 63-year-old View alum — who has been vocal about leaving the U.S. as a result of the current Trump administration — told Us Weekly, “I’ve never really known Ellen to say anything political in her life, so I was surprised to read that she left because of President Trump."

"Like, that shocked me, actually," added O’Donnell.