Ellen DeGeneres’ $30 million British farm hits more floods months after she put it on the market – as rumors swirl she’s planning a return to the US

The vast farm that Ellen DeGeneres And Portia de Rossi purchased as their original home base during their move to Britain, has reportedly been inundated by more floodwaters – just five months after the couple listed the property for $30 million.

DeGeneres, 67, and de Rossi, 52, bought the 43-acre estate in June 2024 for $20 million and undertook an extensive renovation after leaving the US to start a new life in the British countryside.

Initially, the couple planned to divide their time between the UK and their homes in California, purchasing the Cotswolds farm as a temporary base in England. However, after president Donald Trump After claiming victory in the 2024 election, DeGeneres and de Rossi reversed their plans and opted to make their overseas move permanent.

As a result, they started looking for a more suitable full-time home. They eventually ended up in an extraordinary glass-walled mansion in the same luxury area, where they reportedly moved just weeks after work was completed on their first property.

They then put their first home in Britain back on the market for $10 million more than they bought it for, despite multiple reports claiming the property had been plagued by flooding multiple times.

Now it appears the house has been silted up again by another flood, with reports claiming the area surrounding the property was seriously affected by the recent Storm Claudia, which caused the banks of the nearby River Windrush to burst.

Photos obtained by the Daily Mail show the fields in front of the historic stone property, known as Kitesbridge Farm, covered in standing water due to the bad weather.

It is unclear whether the water has reached the house, which is on slightly higher ground than the surrounding fields.

When the area was hit by significant flooding last November, DeGeneres responded on Instagram to reports that the house had flooded, despite images showing a similar watery scene around the stone abode.

“For those of you who are concerned,” she wrote, “our British farm has NOT been flooded.”

That bad weather is reportedly forcing DeGeneres and de Rossi to take even more drastic action – with sources telling the Daily Mail that the duo are considering a return to the US as they have grown tired of British winter weather.

“Ellen was convinced she and Portia would stay in Britain while Trump was in the White House, but apparently she has had a bit of a change of heart,” an anonymous insider claimed.

‘She’s been telling friends they’re coming home soon because they miss them and can’t spend the winters there, and Portia wants to perform again. They’ll be here for the holidays and longer, it sounds like.”

Certainly, the listing of the property, which is owned by Andrew Barnes And Marcus O’Brien from Sotheby’s International Realty, makes no mention of the area’s flood risk, instead focusing on the property’s many positive features, including its “43 hectares of rolling Cotswold countryside”.

“The main building unfolds around a central landscaped courtyard, a beautiful focal point that brings light and flow to the interior,” the description continues.

“A series of generous reception rooms overlook this space, creating a seamless connection between indoors and outdoors. Designed for both large-scale entertainment and relaxation, the layout combines sharp architectural detail with a contemporary eye for volume, proportion and finish.”

The one major amenity the house did not have, however, was the one that DeGeneres and de Rossi realized they valued most when they decided to settle permanently in Britain: ample space for De Rossi’s horses.

Speaking with the Wall Street Journal When they put the property on the market, DeGeneres noted that this was their main reason for moving to another home nearby.

“When we decided to live here full-time, we knew Portia couldn’t live without her horses,” she explains. “We needed a house with a horse facility and pastures for them.”

In a previous advertisement, the property was described as “an eco farm with the perfect modern rustic interior.” However, one of DeGeneres and De Rossi’s real estate agents noted that the farm was somewhat “tired” when the couple purchased it.

But that didn’t stop DeGeneres from falling in love with the house. She reportedly paid around $3.3 million above the asking price to secure the house, then hired a team of 70 workers to carry out the renovation works as quickly as possible so that it would be ready for her and De Rossi as quickly as possible.

However, those renovations encountered several hurdles, with reports emerging that she had encountered resistance from local residents over her plans for the home.

In February it was claimed that DeGeneres and de Rossi faced objections from neighbors over their proposed development of the residence, with three councilors expressing concerns that an extension would “increase the risk of flooding in the village” and “disturb the Roman remains”.

Meanwhile, other residents raised concerns that the hedge and barbed wire at the couple’s home could lead to flooding if waste “gets stuck in the fence” and restricts the “flow across the field”.

Despite the protests, a spokesperson for West Oxfordshire Direct Council insisted at the time that the Roman remains are more than 200 meters from DeGeneres and de Rossi’s properties and that the work had been “completed to a high standard”.

“The works to the property include a single-storey extension and landscaping,” the spokesperson said New York Post. “While the extension was technically in breach of permitted development rights, it was considered acceptable from a planning perspective.

“As the works were completed to a high standard with no impact on surrounding amenities or other planning issues, no further enforcement action was necessary and the matter has been closed.

“Regarding concerns about Roman remains in Akeman Street, the site is over 200 meters from the Roman road and there is no interference.”

The agent noted that extensive work was carried out on the property before the couple moved in, describing its original condition as ‘quite tired, with a fairly basic finish’.

The Journal reported that DeGeneres and de Rossi were originally given an 18-month timeline in which contractors believed the renovations could be completed — so they brought in “about 70 workers” who could complete the work in about 10 weeks.

Still, DeGeneres and de Rossi would ultimately spend only a matter of weeks in the completed home before moving into a new, ultra-modern home about 30 minutes away that has a more Malibu-esque aesthetic than the traditional brick home they first purchased.

Their second home, which DeGeneres has already started showing off on social media, sits atop a hill in Oxfordshire – making it much less prone to flooding – and has walls made entirely of glass.

The house has five bedrooms and a Japanese-style courtyard. The immaculately landscaped garden leads to rolling fields where De Rossi’s horses can graze and run.

The incredibly modern design is in stark contrast to the traditional farmhouse now on the market. That property dates back to the 18th century and offers six bedrooms, as well as a party barn with its own pub – ideal for anyone with a passion for entertaining and who wants to entertain friends away from prying eyes.

The farm also features a swimming pool and a gym, both located in another building on the property.

DeGeneres initially revealed her plans to part ways with Kitesbridge Farm in July, when she appeared at an event in nearby Cheltenham, where she opened up to the British broadcaster Richard Bacon about the reasons behind her move to Britain

During that conversation, she confirmed for the first time that she and De Rossi had made the decision to move to England full-time afterwards Trump won the election and explained that they initially planned to use their British home for only a few months a year.

“We came here the day before the election and woke up to a lot of texts from our friends with crying emojis, and I was like, ‘He got in,’” she explained. “And we say, ‘We’re staying here.'”

DeGeneres then announced her plans to sell her farm, telling the audience at the Everyman Theater, “We decided we needed another house, and now we’re selling that house.

“So if anyone wants a house, it’s a beautiful stone farmhouse. To clarify, I’m not selling the new one we live in now. I’m selling the old stone farmhouse.”