Ellen DeGeneres is selling the Santa Barbara home she shares with Portia de Rossi for $45 million – despite declaring ‘I really do hope we live here forever’ in her 2015 book Home.

The talk show host and actress couple bought the Californian property in 2013 for $26.5 million. Echoing 17th-century Italian villas, the stone house was designed by architect Wallace Frost as his own home after he returned from the European country in the 1930s. Many years later, it was renovated by interior designer John Saladino, followed by its power-couple owners.

‘The house truly feels like it was built out of the landscape, rather than plopped on a plot,’ wrote DeGeneres. ‘It feels ancient, like it’s been there forever. Like that hill was never without the house. This is a home that honors nature, and I love that.’

The pair modernised the 10,500 sq ft villa, which includes six bedrooms, eight bathrooms and multiple libraries. Historic details, such as tiles and light fixtures shipped over from Italy by Frost, are paired with contemporary minimalism.

Degeneres and de Rossi also bought two adjacent properties to extend the estate to 16.88 acres and built a modern entertaining pavilion, dubbed Jordan Hall, equipped with an infinity swimming pool.

Olive and eucalyptus trees abound across the landscaped grounds of the Montecito retreat – for sale via Sotheby’s International Realty – which is sprinkled with sculptures and fountains.

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