She stormed out of Hollywood incensed by the election of Donald Trump – and moved to England for a fresh start living out her fantasy of the rural good life in the Cotswolds.

But within weeks of moving into a £15 million historic farmhouse set in verdant countryside Ellen DeGeneres found her new home surrounded by floodwater after torrential rain lashed the valley it is set in for weeks on end.

Ellen herself was keen to stress that the property itself wasn’t flooded, but the surrounding fields were submerged in water after prolonged rain prompted a nearby river to burst its banks.

Further irritations ensued in the form of a vexing planning issue between Ellen, 67, and her celebrity wife Portia De Rossi, 52, and her new neighbours.

And now, according to locals, the golden Hollywood couple may just have had enough – and appear to be on the point of abandoning that first Cotswolds farmhouse base – at least on a temporary basis and relaunching their country life from a property that’s closer to offering the kind of Californian comfort they are used to.

Tucked away in the rolling Cotswold hills, the sprawling modern mansion they are eyeing looks closer to something from Laurel Canyon, the celebrity enclave in the Hollywood Hills than the ‘Cold Comfort Farm’ model Ellen has apparently become increasingly disillusioned by.

One source living locally told MailOnline: ‘Ellen and Portia have had several issues with the place they initially moved into.

‘First there was the flooding, of course, then there was an issue with some locals complaining about some building work carried out at the property.

Ellen, 66, and her wife Portia, 51, left the US where they lived in California after Donald Trump secured the presidency – and have moved to start a new life in rural England

Ellen DeGeneres’s multi-million pound Costswolds farmhouse was previously been hit by flooding – just days after the TV star moved (Pictured: Parts of Wallingford in Oxfordshire are underwater)

The modern mansion that the couple are understood to have visited several times is set in the hugely expensive area of the Cotswolds where stars including David and Victoria Beckham, Simon Cowell and Kate Moss have their homes

They added: ‘So the upshot seems to have been that they started to have a look around and then this property came up.

‘They looked at it several times. And they liked it more each time they looked.

‘So it does look like it’s happening. They’ve been seen around there several times in recent weeks and have even had interactions with neighbours.’

The modern mansion that the couple are understood to have visited several times is set in the hugely expensive area of the Cotswolds where stars including David and Victoria Beckham, Simon Cowell and Kate Moss have their homes

Also in the vicinity of the property’s extensive 100 acres of surrounding farmland, is renowned celebrity haven Soho Farmhouse where Harry and Meghan spent early dates before they married.

The source added: ‘It represents quite a change for them – from a traditional farmhouse to something much more Hollywood. But I guess that’s what they felt like after their first winter in England.

‘But whatever the weather does they won’t be flooded again as it’s at the top of a hill =- and the views are spectacular.’

Also in the vicinity of the property’s extensive 100 acres of surrounding farmland, is renowned celebrity haven Soho Farmhouse where Harry and Meghan spent early dates before they married

Now locals the couple may have had enough and are eyeing up a new possible home  (Pictured: Unpassable roads in nearby Dunsden, Oxfordshire)

The striking modern home has huge floor-to-ceiling windows offering breathtaking panoramic views of the Cotswolds.

But before its dramatic transformation, the farmhouse was left unoccupied and semi derelict before being bought up by a local architect.

The transformation he oversaw was dramatic: the single-story home, which has been lauded with architectural awards, offers a huge 10,000 square feet of living space

And more than 1,000 trees have been planted on the surrounding estate.

It’s understood that the property first caught Portia’s eye on social media.

And she’s thought to have seen enough to be tempted to make the journey of 30 or so minutes from their current base to then view it in person, later persuading Ellen to see it too.

They are now said to be seriously contemplating switching their homes.

Ellen and Portia first decided to relocate across the Atlantic to Oxfordshire following Kamala Harris’ doomed campaign – which the talk show superstar had supported.

The couple had already bought the home in June last year, paying £2.5 million over the asking price, after ‘falling in love’ with the rolling estate, which is equipped with a helicopter launch pad and swimming pool.

Ellen and Portia were seen in November settling in to their new surroundings in the Cotswolds by enjoying a night out at Jeremy Clarkson’s pub, ‘The Farmer’s Dog’

Now president-elect Donald Trump takes the stage during a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina on November 4

A local claimed ‘it does look like’ the pair were eyeing up a modern mansion in the lavish Cotswolds

But it was only after Trump’s landslide win that the pair sold off their $32 million Montecito home and made the permanent move.

‘Ellen has fallen in love with the property in the Cotswolds,’ one source told The Sun at the time. ‘She has been on the lookout for a house in the area and often visits her celebrity pals.

‘A Cotswolds house has become a status symbol in the celebrity world and Ellen wanted to join the pack.’

But just weeks after arriving, their quaint Cotswold village and its surrounds was hit by Storm Bert, with huge flood waters surrounding their new home.

The area had been battered with 80mph winds and lashings of torrential rain.

‘The flood waters are rising by the hour,’ one local resident who lives near the couple said at the time. ‘This is the worst I have seen in years.’

‘It has been absolutely bleak – it’s a beautiful area but the weather has just been a nightmare and it’s only going to get worse,’ another added.

‘God knows what those two must be thinking after leaving California to come here. The English countryside is a long way from Los Angeles, and I doubt they were prepared for this sort of thing.

‘I wonder whether next time they’re wading home through a soaking wet field if they might think it wasn’t worth the trouble.’

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi at the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards in 2020

Ellen DeGeneres walks onstage during the Michelle Obama: The Light We Carry Tour at Warner Theatre on November 15, 2022

To make matters worse, the couple had a run-in with locals in the area, after concerns were raised that construction works taking place at their property could cause disturbance to Roman remains nearby.

Local councillors at the village parish meeting were unimpressed that the couple’s developers had not sought planning permission for a single-storey extension at the site, leading to a ‘technical breach’.

The council minutes said that ‘concern was expressed by residents that the hedge and wire fence could increase flood risk in the village’ if rubbish was swept down and ‘caught on the fence’, thereby ‘limiting flow across the field’.

Those displeased included local heiress Rosie Pearson – the youngest child of Viscount Cowdray, who later said she first raised the issue.

She told the Oxford Mail: ‘I was at the meeting when it was discussed and yes, I contacted the officer because an extension had gone up without permission.

‘It was found not to be a material breach, and that there had been no threat to any possibility of Roman remains.’

The planning tiff may have been another spur in Ellen and Portia’s hunt for a new home in the Cotswolds.

It may seem dramatic to change houses so relatively quickly but it’s not apparently out of character: Ellen is said to be a well-known property wheeler dealer, once reportedly telling People magazine that she had bought and sold ‘over 50 houses’ over the years – including one previously owned by Brad Pitt.

It is unknown if the star held onto any property back in South California, however, she was seen making a return to her former hometown of Montecito in January making a quick visit to the luxury Westlake Village retirement home.