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NEED TO KNOW
- Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi moved to the English countryside in November
- An insider tells PEOPLE that locals know who DeGeneres is, but “they don’t bother her”
- “It’s a small village so of course everyone gossips, but I haven’t heard a single bad thing,” the insider adds
Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi are embracing life away from the spotlight.
Nearly a year after the couple moved to England, sources tell PEOPLE that the former talk show host, 67, and the Arrested Development alum, 52, are thriving after moving to their new home in the Cotswolds.
“They come in regularly, they are really chilled and very polite,” a local pub source near Wigginton tells PEOPLE. “They come in with their dogs, sometimes on their own and sometimes with other people.”
“One time, they asked to sit at the corner table presumably as it’s a bit more private,” the insider recalls, adding of DeGeneres, “Everyone knows who she is, but they don’t bother her.”
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While their move made headlines, the source tells PEOPLE locals “all just respect their privacy.”
“[Ellen’s] so nice and very down to earth,” adds the source. “It’s a small village so of course everyone gossips, but I haven’t heard a single bad thing.”
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Echoes another local insider: “They were [at our pub] for about an hour or so last year and were discreet. They had a drink and left, no fuss.”
In August, the television personality — who revealed on Friday, Oct. 10 that they had welcomed another puppy into their home — shared a glimpse into her new life in the English countryside with de Rossi.
“Portia’s living her dream riding her horse through the English countryside and into the village,” she wrote alongside a clip of the actress riding her horse, before joking, “Gosh I hope she comes home soon.”
The comedian then teased her wife, “Are you going to a photo shoot?” to which de Rossi replied, “No” with a laugh as she continued to guide her horse down a path.The video — set to Taylor Swift’s “August” — cuts to the actress smiling while riding the horse down a dirt trail before passing by cottages in the English countryside.
The post came one month after DeGeneres revealed the couple’s move was due to the 2024 presidential election results.
On July 20, English broadcaster Richard Bacon asked her whether Donald Trump’s victory played a role in their relocation, to which she replied, “Yes,” per the BBC.
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DeGeneres also shared how life has improved since the move to the U.K.
The couple “got here the day before the election,” she added, “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.’”
“We moved here in November, which was not the ideal time, but I saw snow for the first time in my life,” the California native continued. “We love it here. Portia flew her horses here, and I have chickens, and we had sheep for about two weeks.”
She also noted that the English countryside is “absolutely beautiful,” and that she and de Rossi are enjoying “just a simpler way of life.”
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The same month, DeGeneres revealed to The Wall Street Journal that the pair decided to list their Cotswolds estate for $30 million, not because they’re leaving England, but because they need more space for their animals.
“When we decided to live here full time, we knew that Portia couldn’t live without her horses,” she told the outlet in a statement. “We needed a home that had a horse facility and pastures for them.”
Listing agent Andrew Barnes of Sotheby’s International Realty confirmed to the outlet that the couple had moved into a bigger, more modern home in the area to accommodate de Rossi’s animals.