If you have not seen Ellen DeGeneres on television for a while, it is easy to wonder what happened to her. For almost two decades, she was everywhere. Then The Ellen DeGeneres Show ended, she stepped away from regular television, moved much of her life to England and largely stayed out of the spotlight.
But Ellen DeGeneres has not disappeared. As of September 2026, she is living a much quieter life with her wife, Portia de Rossi, while also slowly returning to entertainment through a project that brings back one of her most famous characters.
Why did The Ellen DeGeneres Show end?
The biggest turning point came in 2020, when former employees of The Ellen DeGeneres Show spoke publicly about their experiences working on the program. Reports included allegations of racism, intimidation and a toxic workplace environment.
WarnerMedia launched an internal investigation following the reports. Several senior producers subsequently left the show, while DeGeneres apologized to staff and said she wanted the workplace to become a better environment.
The controversy changed the conversation around Ellen. Her public image had been strongly connected to kindness and positivity, so the workplace allegations received a huge amount of attention.
The show continued for another two seasons, but DeGeneres announced that the 2021-22 season would be its last. The final episode aired in May 2022, ending a 19-season run.
Did Ellen retire from television?
In practical terms, she stepped away from the type of television career that had made her famous. She was no longer hosting a daily talk show and did not immediately replace it with another major television program.
Her next major public project was the 2024 Netflix comedy special Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval. In the special, she talked about the backlash, her career and what happened after the end of her talk show.
She joked about being “kicked out of show business,” but the special also showed that the experience had affected her personally. Netflix presented it as her final comedy special, marking what looked like a major step away from stand-up and regular entertainment work.
Why did Ellen move to England?
DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi moved to the English countryside after Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election. DeGeneres later discussed the move publicly and said Trump's return to the White House was one of the reasons they decided to relocate.
The couple settled in the Cotswolds, an area known for its countryside and large country properties. Their life there has been considerably more private than the celebrity lifestyle DeGeneres had in Los Angeles.
There has been some confusion about whether they permanently left California. They did not completely cut ties with the United States. In late 2025, the couple bought a home in Montecito for about $27.4 million, while reports said they still planned to spend most of their time in the UK.
Is Ellen DeGeneres still living in the UK?
For the most part, yes. DeGeneres and de Rossi have continued to spend significant time in England, although they also travel back to California.
Interestingly, they also decided to keep their Cotswolds property after putting it on the market. The 43-acre estate had undergone a major renovation, and reports in 2026 said the couple had pulled the property from the market while considering additional improvements, including facilities for de Rossi's horses.
So the story is not really that Ellen “left America forever.” Their life is now split between the UK and the US, with England remaining an important part of their lifestyle.
Is Ellen coming back to entertainment?
This is where things have become interesting again.
In April 2026, DeGeneres announced that she was returning to acting by voicing Dory again in a new Pixar short set in the Finding Nemo universe. She confirmed the news herself after reports of the project appeared.
The short is titled Loving Dory, and Pixar showed a first look at the project during the 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
For Ellen, Dory is obviously a very personal part of her entertainment history. She first voiced the character in Finding Nemo in 2003 and returned for Finding Dory in 2016. The new project therefore gives her a return to acting without requiring her to go back to hosting a daily television program.
What is Ellen doing now?
These days, DeGeneres appears to be choosing a much quieter lifestyle. She still uses social media and occasionally appears at public events, but she is nowhere near as constantly visible as she was during the height of her talk-show career.
In June 2026, DeGeneres and de Rossi were photographed spending time with Kris Jenner on a yacht in Mallorca. DeGeneres has also continued sharing personal moments and travels with her followers.
Her Instagram account remains enormous, with roughly 130 million followers in 2026. So even though she is not on television every day anymore, she has not exactly disappeared from public attention.
What about the rumors about Ellen?
There have been quite a few rumors about DeGeneres circulating online. Some have claimed she is seriously ill, has split from Portia de Rossi or has completely left public life.
Those claims need to be treated carefully. In 2026, there have also been false celebrity death reports involving DeGeneres, despite her continuing to make public appearances and post online.
There is no credible evidence that Ellen DeGeneres has died or that she and Portia de Rossi have divorced. The couple continue to appear together publicly.
So what really happened to Ellen DeGeneres?
The simplest answer is that Ellen's career changed dramatically after the workplace controversy surrounding her talk show. The show eventually ended in 2022, she addressed the experience in her 2024 Netflix special, and she then moved into a much quieter stage of her life.
Her move to England added to the impression that she had completely retired from Hollywood. But that is not really the case. She has continued to travel, spend time with Portia, maintain a large social-media presence and, now, return to acting through the Dory character.
As of September 2026, there is no announced return of The Ellen DeGeneres Show and no indication that she is preparing to resume a daily talk-show career. Instead, Ellen appears to be choosing projects on her own terms while enjoying a considerably more private life than she had during her television years.
