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Photos show chaos at airports as passengers are left stranded due to canceled flights

  • Airports across the Middle East have suspended all flight operations until further notice, leaving many stranded.
  • The US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday, with Iran launching retaliatory strikes across the region.
  • One Emirates passenger told Business Insider he was stuck on a plane for five hours without food before everyone was deplaned.

Travelers are in limbo as airport departure boards flip to red after air strikes in Iran resulted in closed airspace and triggered mass flight cancellations.

The heart of the chaos is in the Middle East, where airports in Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi serve as megahubs for global connecting traffic. Data from the aviation analytics firm Cirium shows their home airlines — Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad Airways — carry a combined 90,000 transit passengers a day.

That figure does not include the thousands of travelers whose final destination is the Middle East.

Emirates passenger Jaiveer Cheema, who was set to fly back home to the US on Saturday, told Business Insider that he was stuck on his plane for five hours with no food before everyone was deplaned and shuffled into the crowded terminal at Dubai International.

“The next several hours at the airport were chaos as no one knew what to do,” he said. “We spoke to several security guards and Emirates employees, and they all gave us different answers.”

Cheema said they stood in line after line until they eventually got a hotel voucher and took a bus to the lodging. He was still waiting for a room 90 minutes after arriving — it’s after midnight in Dubai; nearly 20 hours after he initially showed up for his 9 a.m. flight.

While many passengers are stranded within the region’s closed airspace, shuttered until further notice, the disruption has rippled far beyond it.

Flights to the affected region from places like London and the US have been canceled outright or diverted mid-journey — leaving travelers far from home in crowded airport terminals and uncertain when they will be able to depart.

Airlines have told passengers on social media to expect long wait times at airports and on customer-service phone lines as they try to manage the abrupt disruptions.

The sheer number of displaced people and planes on Saturday alone is expected to snowball worldwide if airports are unable to restart operations soon.

Passengers in Dubai were funneled into long snaking lines.

Jaiveer Cheema is one of the thousands of people stranded in limbo.

Courtesy of Jaiveer Cheema

Cheema spent hours in line but managed to secure a hotel voucher — though he had yet to secure a room when talking with Business Insider. He said he did not have answers from Emirates on what’s next.

An Emirates spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Passengers at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport in Lebanon are stranded.


Stranded passengers at Rafik Hariri International Airport

Passengers are stranded at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport on Saturday.

Anadolu/Anadolu via Getty Images

Airlines are pivoting their operations in response to the strikes. Lufthansa Group said it is suspending flights to Beirut, Tel Aviv, Amman, Erbil, and Tehran until March 7.

Airlines are suspending flights across the region, including Lebanon.


Cancelled flights at the Rafik Hariri International Airport on February 28.

Flight operations at the Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport in Lebanon on Saturday.

Anadolu/Anadolu via Getty Images

In a statement shared on the Lufthansa Group’s website, the company said it would also suspend flights in additional areas.

“The following airspaces will also not be used until March 7: Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Qatar, and Iran,” the aviation corporation said. “In addition, Lufthansa Group airlines will suspend flights to and from Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Riad, and Dammam until March 1. Furthermore, the airspace of the United Arab Emirates will not be used until March 1.”

International flights at Tribhuvan International Airport in Nepal were disrupted.


Stranded passengers at Tribhuvan International Airport in Nepal.

Passengers waiting at Tribhuvan International Airport in Nepal on Saturday.

Navesh Chitrakar/REUTERS

The Tribhuvan International Airport shared a passenger advisory on Saturday, saying international flights “may be subject to delay, rescheduling, or cancellations” due to airspace restrictions.

Passengers flying with major airlines were told to check their flight status.


Passengers stranded at Tribhuvan International Airport in Nepal on February 28

Passengers at Tribhuvan International Airport in Nepal on Saturday.

Navesh Chitrakar/REUTERS

The Tribhuvan International Airport told passengers flying with major airlines — including Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines — to coordinate with those companies to navigate travel issues.

Qatar’s airspace closure caused flight disruptions at Hamad International Airport.


Passengers at the Hamad International Airport in Qatar on February 28.

Passengers at the Hamad International Airport in Qatar on Saturday.

Stringer/REUTERS

Qatar’s Hamad International Airport said all aircraft movement has been temporarily suspended due to the country’s closed airspace.

“Our priority is always the safety of our passengers and employees. We are working closely with government stakeholders and airline partners to look after passengers that have been impacted,” the airport wrote in an advisory.

In London, flights to the countries Middle East were canceled.


A check-in counter for Emirates at London Gatwick Airport shows cancelled flights on February 28.

The Emirates check-in counter at London Gatwick Airport shows that flights are cancelled on Saturday.

Ben Stansall / AFP

Flights heading to the Middle East were also canceled at the London Gatwick Airport in England on Saturday.

London Gatwick Airport told some passengers to expect travel interruptions.


Passenger at London Gatwick Airport on February 28.

Passengers at London Gatwick Airport on Saturday.

Ben Stansall / AFP

A London Gatwick Airport spokesperson told Sky News it’s “expecting disruption to our Qatar and Emirates flights.”

Are you a stranded traveler with a story to share? Contact the reporters at ledmonds@insider.com and trains@insider.com along with your preferred contact information.


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I visited the Rikers jail kitchen. I left shaken by what I’d seen.

  • Rikers Island jail in New York City holds nearly 7,000 detainees, who consume about 7 million meals a year.
  • I wanted to see how the operation works, so I visited its largest kitchen.
  • I was surprised by how much is made from scratch, and by the constant state of readiness for the worst-case scenario.

Rikers Island, New York City’s most notorious jail complex, sits in the water between the Bronx and Queens.

When I visited the complex in April 2025, I expected it to be hard to reach — and I wasn’t wrong. There’s just one small, mile-long bridge for everyone entering and exiting the facility.

Nearly 7,000 detainees are in custody at Rikers. In 2024, the city spent $19 billion to feed them all, amounting to 7 million meals. I wanted to learn why the price tag is so high and how the operation works.

Here, chefs — not detainees — do the cooking. When they’re on shift, the cooks are locked in, too.

Visiting Rikers shook me more than I expected, and I couldn’t help but wonder how the chefs and officers carry it every day.

The larger of the two kitchens at Rikers is in the Anna M. Kross Center.

No detainees were housed here at the time of filming.

Abby Narishkin

After traversing the mile-long bridge, we passed through three security gates. I was surprised to learn that many chefs rely solely on public transportation to get to work, often traveling two or more hours each way.

Once inside AMKC, we went through metal detectors. This building hasn’t held detainees since 2023. It was an eerie 10-minute walk down the silent, seemingly endless hallways.

Eight guards watch over the kitchen.


Rikers PIC

Five chefs were cooking while five people in custody washed dishes.

Adam Miller

People in custody wash dishes, push carts, and serve food.

They can’t have any infraction tickets. They must be serving time for nonviolent offenses and be approved by custody management to work here.

Everything’s cooked in huge batches.


Rikers tartar sauce

This vat of tartar sauce was for the next day’s dinner.

Adam Miller

There are no open fires here. They cook chicken in rotisserie ovens.

I was shocked to see how many dishes chefs made from scratch. Tartar sauce started as mayo and pickles. Pepper steak, a favorite among detainees, started as blocks of frozen beef.

There are security cameras everywhere in the kitchen.


Rikers security cameras

Cameras are monitored from a guard’s office, inside the kitchen.

Adam Miller

Inside the kitchen, it still felt like a jail. I felt the cameras everywhere.

Guards watched over the detainees and checked every incoming shipment of food for contraband. They frisked down detainees before they entered the kitchen, and again before they left.

Dull knives are chained up.


Knives in rikers

Guards lock the knives onto the massive cooking vats or stainless steel tables.

Adam Miller

Knives are kept on chains for their protection. When a chef needs the knife at a different location, they have to get a guard from the office to come unlock it and move it.

The chefs told me it felt awkward at first, the chain brushing against their hands, but they eventually got used to it.

Still, they say it can be tricky. I watched one chef wrestle the chain into position before cutting into a large frozen block of beef.

Chefs also secure the lids they remove from cans.


Can lids Rikers

A mechanical can opener quickly removes the lids, and then chefs slide them down this caged trash can.

Mark Miller

Even things I wouldn’t normally consider dangerous — like cans of green beans — are treated as potential threats. Chefs are required to throw them away immediately.

Cans go into wagons, and lids go into a caged trash can. Officers told us they have to be cautious about everything. Even small pieces of plastic, wood, and metal can be turned into weapons. That goes for spoons and ladles, too.

Spoons, ladles, and whisks are kept in a locked box in the guard’s office.


Rikers guards office

All tools are kept behind lock and key in the guard’s office when they’re not in use.

Mark Miller

Whenever a chef needs a ladle or whisk, they have to get a guard to unlock a box in the office.

I couldn’t help but think how tedious that must be. “It’s for security,” the chefs reminded me.

Despite all the security measures, I was surprised at how relaxed the chefs seemed.


Packing food carts Rikers

Mr. Ageda is the senior cook on staff.

Mark Miller

Chef Ageda was cracking jokes and laughing with me. He didn’t seem phased by the detainees in the kitchen. He said he can’t be friends with the people in custody because he knows why they’re here. But he said he treats them all with respect.

In an email statement to Business Insider, the Department of Corrections said, “violent incidents that occur in our kitchens are extremely rare.”

Getting a job in the kitchen is a coveted role among people in custody (PICs).


Nadine Leach Rikers

Nadine Leach has worked in the kitchen for 17 months.

Mark Miller

Nadine Leach was a chef before serving time at Rikers. She’s one of the detainees approved to push food carts to the housing units.

At the time of filming, Leach earned $1.45 an hour. She’s saving money for her grandkids, she told me.

Officers check the wagons for contraband and pat down detainees.


pat-down rikers

Guards pat down every PIC before they leave the kitchen area.

Mark Miller

Leach has worked in the kitchen longer than any other person in custody, clocking 56 hours a week by choice, she said. She calls the kitchen her “sanctuary” because she doesn’t feel like she’s in jail while working there.

But even in her sanctuary, officers pat her down, along with all the other people in custody, before they deliver food to the housing units.

There’s a delicate relationship between officers, chefs, and detainees.


hallway rikers

As an officer accompanies Leach after a food delivery, she passes through metal detectors every few paces.

Mark Miller

One moment, Leach is telling me about her grandkids and her goals when she gets out. Then reality sinks in, and she’s up against the wall.

She says she understands the officers are doing their jobs and that she’s doing her time. They’re living in two different worlds.

Leach is one of the people in custody allowed to serve food.


lunch is served Rikers

Leach serves up lunch in the women’s housing unit.

Mark Miller

A dinner might include grilled chicken or pepper steak, which smelled delicious.

The day I visited, pasta salad and tuna were on the lunch menu. It didn’t look particularly appetizing, but it was way better than I expected. There were multiple veggies, from coleslaw to the beets.

In 2024, a Department of Corrections representative told the City Council that each meal costs about $9.

Rikers Island is legally required to close by 2027.


Rikers island aerial

Rikers sits in the waters between the Bronx and Queens. A runway at LaGuardia Airport is only a few hundred feet away.

John Moore/Getty Images

In October 2019, NYC’s city council voted to close Rikers for good, citing years of violence and unmanageable conditions. The deadline to cease all jail operations on the island was 2027.

However, a 2025 report from the Independent Rikers Commission found that the city likely won’t meet that deadline. One criminal justice reporter I spoke to said 2031 was more likely.

I left the day pretty shaken by what I’d seen.


Abby Narishkin in front of rikers

We spent three days inside Rikers. This was me after filming in the kitchen at AMKC. I didn’t feel like smiling.

Abby Narishkin

Obviously, this is jail. I knew it was going to be tough to see life inside Rikers. On one hand, the chef and officers’ ease helped me relax. But it was clear — simmering just beneath the surface — that there was a constant readiness for the worst-case scenario.

It was like this huge elephant in the room. We were laughing with the chefs, talking with Leach about her grandkids — but I never forgot where we were. I could feel the cameras. I could always spot an officer in the corner of my eye.

I left Rikers wondering how chefs and officers return to their normal lives every night. Are they able to shake that alertness?

I left thinking about Leach, and my heart sank. Every second she’s watched. Every time she leaves a room, she’s patted down.

Even so, she maintains a positive outlook, telling me she plans to open up a restaurant when she gets out. A goal I hope she achieves.




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25 celebrities who have left Los Angeles on where they moved and why they did it

California is the US state with the most people moving out, with about 817,000 leavers between 2021 and 2022, according to the most recent census data.

A higher cost of living plus the increased threat of wildfires have people choosing other places across the country.

And while regular people ditch the Golden State, several celebrities, who can typically afford to live wherever they want, have also decided California is no longer the place for them.

Singer turned talk show host Kelly Clarkson traded Los Angeles for New York City post-divorce for in 2022, while actor Sylvester Stallone said in 2024 that he and his family are “permanently” vacating California for South Florida.

Popular moving destinations for Californians include Arizona, Florida, and Texas. And some have chosen different countries completely.

People have told Business Insider that their reasons for leaving LA and California include high taxes, expensive home prices, and challenging social and political conditions. Some celebrities remain tight-lipped when sharing details of their moves, simply saying they’re looking for a fresh start. Other high-profile actors, however, admit that the fast-paced, stressful scene in Hollywood can be another motivation.

Los Angeles, in particular, is experiencing an exodus of wealthier people in search of places where their money goes further.

Take Gus Lira, a managing partner at a private jet charter company, who had a condo in Malibu overlooking the ocean. California taxes were wearing him down, so he decided to move to Nevada.

“For me, really the main reason, and for many of the people that I know, is just taxes,” Lira told Business Insider in January. “You can’t get ahead when you get $100 and they take $60.”

Business Insider compiled a list of 26 celebrities — some in celebrity couples — who left California for greener pastures, presented in alphabetical order by last name. We tried to include both where they moved to and why they left LA.

Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake left LA to shield their kids from the glare of the paparazzi.

Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake.

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

The power couple has dealt with the paparazzi for most of their professional careers. But they had enough of their kids also having to endure it.

Since 2018, Biel, Timberlake, and their two kids have lived predominantly at their properties in Tennessee and Montana.

“You get hammered on the East Coast. You kind of get hammered on the West Coast. That’s why we don’t really live there anymore,” said Biel in a May 2024 episode of SiriusXM’s “Let’s Talk Off Camera With Kelly Ripa,” seemingly referring to her former home of LA. “We’re just trying to create some normalcy for these kids.”

Dean Cain left LA for Las Vegas because of the “incredible taxation” and “horrible regulations for business” in California.


Dean Cain

Dean Cain.

Jamie McCarthy/ Getty Images

Dean Cain, best known for playing Clark Kent/Superman in “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” was fed up with how things were run in California.

The actor split for Vegas in 2023.

“It’s the most ridiculous large government, incredible taxation, horrible regulations for business,” he told Fox News Digital in 2023. “Very anti-business.”

Cain said California’s personal income tax felt especially high.

“I moved to Las Vegas. I live in Nevada now,” he added. “I have 10 times as nice a house. I’m not kidding. Ten times as nice a house as I had in Malibu. The house is absolutely stunningly built. Gorgeous, beautiful. Everything is brand new.”

Kelly Clarkson didn’t just move from LA to New York — she took her daytime talk show with her.


Kelly Clarkson

Kelly Clarkson.

Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal via Getty Image

Kelly Clarkson felt she had a new lease on life when she moved to New York City last year.

After finalizing her divorce from ex-husband Brandon Blackstock in 2022, she didn’t just take her kids east. She also brought “The Kelly Clarkson Show” — it started taping in New York in season 5.

“I was very depressed for the last three years — and maybe a little before that, if I’m being honest. I think I really needed the change,” the Grammy winner told People. “I needed it for me and my family as well. My kids are thriving here. We’re just doing so much better, and we needed a fresh start.”

George and Amal Clooney left LA so their kids could “get a fair shake at life” — they are now French citizens.


George Clooney and Amal Clooney.

George Clooney and Amal Clooney.


Dave Benett/WireImage


The Clooneys have lived the quieter life in Italy and France for years, but always had a home in LA, an English-style estate that George bought from Stevie Nicks back in 1995.

They finally sold that house in 2024 and now spend most of their time at their farmhouse in France with their twins, Ella and Alexander.

George told Esquire in 2025 why they left. “I was worried about raising our kids in L.A., in the culture of Hollywood,” he said. “I felt like they were never going to get a fair shake at life.”

“I don’t want them to be walking around worried about paparazzi,” he added. “I don’t want them being compared to somebody else’s famous kids.”

In late December 2025, George and Amal became French citizens.

Jesse Eisenberg moved to his wife’s hometown of Bloomington, Indiana.


Jesse Eisenberg

Jesse Eisenberg.

Getty Images

Actor and director Jesse Eisenberg took the pandemic as an opportunity to leave Los Angeles. Eisenberg, his wife, and their son packed up an RV and drove to his wife’s hometown of Bloomington, Indiana.

“We have driven cross-country a lot, but we thought it would be prudent to isolate in an RV instead of stopping at hotels,” Eisenberg told The Hollywood Reporter in 2020.

Initially, Eisenberg moved to Indiana to help take care of his late mother-in-law after she got sick and also help out at a domestic violence shelter where she worked.

But Eisenberg was happy to be in Indiana.

“I’ve lived in Indiana for a decade on-and-off and that’s where I feel the most comfortable,” Eisenberg told CBS News in February. “I’m not somebody who wants to surround myself in an industry that just feels kind of unstable.”

Chris Evans wanted to be closer to family in Massachusetts.


Chris Evans posing.

Chris Evans.

Arturo Holmes/Getty Images

Silverscreen superhero and Massachusetts native Chris Evans listed his Los Angeles home in May for $6.99 million, The Wall Street Journal reported, cementing his abandonment of California.

“After over a decade of amazing memories in his LA home, Chris is planning to move to the East Coast to be closer to family,” Evans’ listing agent Scott Moore said in a statement to People.

Evans married his wife, Alba Baptista, in Cape Cod, and now they both spend most of their time in Massachusetts.

Walton Goggins moved to New York after the pandemic.


A man and a woman at an event. On the left, the man has long swept-back black hair. He's wearing a white blazer over an open-collared black shirt and black trousers. On the right, the woman also has her black hair swept back, and is wearing a glittery green dress. They're standing against a purple backdrop with gold logos for Hulu, ABC, and the Emmys on it.

Walton Goggins and Nadia Conners.

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

“The White Lotus” star Walton Goggins and his wife, Nadia Conners, moved to New York’s Hudson Valley during the pandemic in 2021. But, he told Architectural Digest in February, the move was less about California, and more about New York.

“We weren’t running away from Los Angeles,” he said. “We were running toward something.”

“The pandemic opened windows of self-perception and possibility,” he added. “It was an opportunity to do something different, not to start over from scratch but to change, to evolve.”

Goggins, who was raised in Georgia, chose to live in a 1920s home upstate that resembles a hunting lodge — with an abundance of wood paneling and wood flooring — instead of the glitzy surroundings of Los Angeles.

John Goodman left LA in the late ’80s.


John Goodman in a suit

John Goodman.

Stephane Cardinale/Corbis/Getty

John Goodman figured out a long time ago that Los Angeles wasn’t for him and has been living in New Orleans since the late 1980s.

Like many, the Emmy winner first visited Crescent City to party. In the late 1970s, he showed up with his fraternity pals. A few years later, as an actor, he was shooting the movie “Everybody’s All-American” alongside Dennis Quaid, Jessica Lange, and Timothy Hutton when he met his future wife, Anna Beth. He’s been attached to the city ever since.

“I used to come down here every time I’d get a few dimes to rub together, and it felt like I was missing something unless I was here,” he told “Today” in 2023. “I consider myself very lucky to be here.”

Adrian Grenier left California to work on a farm in Texas.


Adrian Grenier posing.

Adrian Grenier.

Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images

Adrian Grenier, known mostly from his “Entourage” fame, left California for Texas in 2020.

Grenier traded the glitzy life of Hollywood for a farm 45 minutes outside Austin, Texas, where he prefers a quieter lifestyle outside the spotlight.

“I don’t miss anything about that world. Listen, if you go on Instagram long enough, you’re going to find some FOMO somewhere, but everyone is just pretending they’re living their best life,” he told Life Magazine in 2021. “Ultimately, I know that I am, so I don’t even tell anybody about it.”

Josh Hartnett has been living in the English countryside since the pandemic. He left Hollywood after dealing with a stalker.


Josh Harnett in a black jacket

Josh Hartnett.

Cindy Ord/WireImage/Getty

The actor recently gained renewed attention thanks to movies like “Oppenheimer” and “Trap,” but don’t expect to find him hanging out on the Sunset Strip. Since the pandemic, he’s ditched LA for the English countryside.

Hartnett and his wife, British actor Tamsin Egerton, have lived in Hampshire since COVID hit, bringing up their four kids. He’s living in the UK on a marriage visa, so he can only leave the country for work for around 180 days a year.

After spending his early career in the Hollywood spotlight, Hartnett told The Guardian he loves the village country life where “nobody cares” who you are.

“This is all brand new to me,” he said. “I never would have expected it. And time passes quickly. With four children, you have so much to do. In a way, less is happening. But more of the important stuff is happening.”

Being outside Hollywood is also safer for Hartnett. He told The Guardian that when he lived in LA, he had experiences with stalkers.

“People showed up at my house. People that were stalking me,” he said. “A guy showed up at one of my premieres with a gun, claiming to be my father. He ended up in prison. There were lots of things. It was a weird time. And I wasn’t going to be grist for the mill.”

Chris Hemsworth moved his family back to his homeland of Australia right when his Marvel fame hit.


Chris Hemsworth with his hand in the hair waiving

Chris Hemsworth.

JB Lacroix/WireImage/Getty

Hemsworth figured out LA wasn’t for him right around the time the first “Thor” movie came out in 2011.

“We kind of were set up in LA and not enjoying it, you know?” Hemsworth said on the “SmartLess” podcast in February 2026, referring to him and his wife, fellow actor Elsa Pataky. “Like nothing was shooting there. We were filming kind of everywhere else and then you’d come home, and then paparazzi and all the sort of the trappings of, you know, living in that space.”

Hemsworth and Pataky moved with their two young children to Hemsworth’s native Australia and have been there ever since.

“You know, when you come back from work, you wanna go on a holiday? Like coming home for me is — it feels like a holiday,” Hemsworth said. “We have a big farm and horses and motorbikes and surf.”

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban moved to Tennessee to be closer to the country music scene.


nicole kidman keith urban

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban.

Getty/David Becker

A year after Nicole Kidman tied the knot with country-music star Keith Urban, the two got the heck out of LA.

In 2007, they moved to Nashville, where the Australian Oscar winner dove headfirst into Urban’s world.

“That country-music community is a very warm community,” she told People in 2016. “It’s very protective. Keith’s been a part of it for decades now. It’s his home, it’s our home.”

In September, Kidman filed for divorce from Urban.

Lindsay Lohan left LA for Dubai and now has privacy, peace, and space.


Lindsay Lohan in a gree dress

Lindsay Lohan.

Leon Bennett/Getty

Lohan has lived on both coasts, but she currently prefers to be in the United Arab Emirates, where she lives with her husband, financier Bader Shammas, and their two-year-old son.

In a May 2025 profile in Elle, Lohan said that when she was living in Los Angeles, she would be “stressed” about the paparazzi taking photos of her while at the park with her son. Living in New York, there’s a “different kind of energy” but not as much space. Living in Dubai, she gets it all.

“I get the privacy, I get the peace, I get the space,” she said. “I don’t have to worry there; I feel safe.”

Eva Longoria and her family split time between Mexico and Spain.


Eva Longoria in a white blouse on a street

Eva Longoria.

James Devaney/GC Images/Getty

The star and producer made the decision a few years ago to move out of Los Angeles.

She now splits her time between Mexico and Spain. She told Marie Claire in 2024 that she left Hollywood behind because it felt like that “chapter in my life is done now.”

While on “Live with Kelly and Mark” in April, Longoria said she loves traveling to the Andalucía region of Spain to enjoy the small beach bars and restaurants.

Matthew McConaughey headed to Texas to help his family.


Matthew McConaughey leaning against a viewfinder

Matthew McConaughey.

John Nacion/Getty

A few years before the McConaissance led to Matthew McConaughey’s best actor Oscar win, he and his wife, Camila Alves, fled Hollywood for his home state of Texas.

The two settled in Austin in 2012 after buying a 10,800-square-foot mansion. According to a profile in Southern Living, it was initially because of a “family crisis,” as he needed to help his mother and two brothers. That led to the couple deciding to stay put to raise their three children there.

“Ritual came back,” McConaughey said of being back in Texas. “Whether that was Sunday church, sports, dinner together as a family every night, or staying up after that telling stories in the kitchen, sitting at the island pouring drinks and nibbling while retelling them all in different ways than we told them before.”

“This is Us” star Chrissy Metz packed up for the Southern hospitality of Nashville.


Chrissy Metz in a colorful dress

Chrissy Metz.

Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images

After 21 years on the grind in LA, Metz packed up and left town when the pandemic hit. She now resides in Nashville.

“There’s a lot going on,” “The Hunting Wives” star told People in April 2025. “There’s obviously great music, great food. I grew up in the South, so I’m used to sort of that hospitality — it feels more communal here. In LA it was always like, ‘Oh, you have an audition? What’s it for? Oh, you have an audition? What for?’ It was all very dog eat dog!”

Glen Powell moved to Texas after making it big in LA.


Glen Powell in a blue jacket

Glen Powell.

Dia Dipasupil/Getty

Glen Powell left Los Angeles and returned to his home state of Texas in 2024.

Powell, who had a breakout role in “Top Gun: Maverick,” has lived in Los Angeles for more than 15 years, but told The Hollywood Reporter in 2024 that he’s done enough in Hollywood and he feels he can now live elsewhere. “It’s like I’ve earned the ability to go back to my family,” he said.

Not only does living in Texas allow Powell to be closer to family, but he’s also finishing his degree at the University of Texas.

“I think this is going to be good for my head, heart, and soul,” he said.

Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively left LA after just six months of dating.


Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds attend

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds.


Dia Dipasupil/FilmMagic


When you know, you know. After less than a year of dating, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively packed up their stuff and left Hollywood for the suburbs of New York City.

In 2012, after six months of dating, the couple bought a $2.3 million home in Pound Ridge, New York.

“We don’t live in LA. We live on a farm in New York,” said the “Deadpool” star in a 2015 interview. “And we don’t lead a wild and crazy life. It’s not that hard. It’s not a big deal.”

Julia Roberts hasn’t lived in LA for decades.


Julia Roberts with her hands up while being photographed at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival

Julia Roberts.

Stephane Cardinale/Corbis/Getty

The Oscar winner realized many years ago that Los Angeles wasn’t for her.

Roberts moved to a 32-acre ranch in Taos, New Mexico, in 1995.

The “Pretty Woman” star told Oprah back in 2003 that in New Mexico, everything is “clear.”

“Around here, I come and go like it’s nothing,” she said. “Los Angeles is such a town of show business, and I’m a terrible celebrity. I find it difficult — it’s the beast that must be fed.”

Amanda Seyfried headed to Upstate New York for a taste of the simple life.


Amanda Seyfried attends the 28th Annual Critics Choice Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on January 15, 2023, in Los Angeles, California.

Amanda Seyfried.

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images

With movies like “Mean Girls” and “Mamma Mia!” in her filmography, you would think Amanda Seyfried would want to lay her head down somewhere glamorous.

But she actually prefers life on a farm.

Seyfried spends most of her time on a farm in the Catskills, a mountain range north of New York City, that she purchased in 2014, Architectural Digest reported in 2023.

“It’s insane how much I can feel so accomplished and successful here without having to be in a successful movie,” she told The New York Times in 2020.

Sylvester Stallone wanted a new start in Florida.


Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Stallone.

Rachel Luna/WireImage/Getty Images

After decades of living in Los Angeles — including in his first dingy apartment on Balboa Boulevard, which would become the inspiration for his iconic character Rocky Balboa — Sylvester Stallone packed up and left town in 2023.

This was first revealed in early 2024, during season two of his reality series “The Family Stallone”.

“After a long, hard consideration, your mother and I have decided, time to move on and leave the state of California permanently, and we’re going to go to Florida,” Stallone said. “We’re going to sell this house.”

Stallone and his wife, Jennifer Flavin, gave multiple reasons for the relocation, including the desire for a fresh start after their children moved out of the family home.

Rod Stewart went back to his roots in England.


Rod Stewart

Rod Stewart.

Mike Marsland / Getty Images

The legendary rocker decided that at 79 years old, it was time to stop traveling across the pond.

In 2023, he put his sprawling 38,500-square-foot Beverly Hills property, which he has lived in since 1975, on the market.

Selling the home is bittersweet for Stewart: “I don’t want to sell it, and the kids don’t want me to sell it either,” he told People in 2023. “There’s too many fond memories. I’ve lived [in LA] since 1975, and I adore the place.”

But he said he’s making England a more permanent home since wrapping up his latest world tour and Las Vegas residency.

Eric Stonestreet left Hollywood for Kansas City to get away from the “douchebaggery” of the business.


Eric Stonestreet holding a Mahomes jersey

Eric Stonestreet.

Kyle Rivas/Getty

“Modern Family” star Eric Stonestreet did not mince words when he explained why he’s been living in Kansas City since the acclaimed show ended after 11 seasons in 2020.

In a September 2024 interview with long-form interview journalist Graham Bensinger, he said a big reason he left LA was to get away from all the fake people in Hollywood.

“What I realized it does is it highlights everything great about our business, the entertainment business,” the actor said on what it’s like to no longer live in LA. “And it highlights all the douchebaggery of our business. It amplifies it. Because I’m here, I’m dealing with people from here, and I’m going into the store and having all these authentic, real moments, and then I go to Hollywood, and you’re reminded of some of the types of people that you deal with.”

Hilary Swank moved to a Colorado ski town.


hilary swank


Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images

The Oscar winner is loving her new life in the mountains of Telluride, Colorado, on 168 acres with five rescue dogs.

She and her husband, Philip Schneider, bought the land in 2016, broke ground in 2018, and finally completed the home in 2020.

A year later, she put her LA home on the market and has been living it up in the great outdoors.

“I have been looking for land since I was in my mid-20s,” Swank told Architectural Digest in 2022. “I find nature to be my happiest place, and animals are my other happiest place. And to be with both of them is everything to me.”

Mark Wahlberg moved his family to Las Vegas for a “fresh start.”


Mark Wahlberg looking at camera

Mark Wahlberg.

Mat Hayward/Getty

Boston-born Mark Wahlberg set out to LA years ago to make it as an actor. Over his career, he realized he rarely stayed there to make any of his movies. So, in 2022, he packed up and moved his family to Las Vegas.

He told The Talk in October 2022 that in Nevada his four kids can more easily pursue their hobbies, including golfing, riding horses, and playing basketball.

“We came here to just kind of give ourselves a new look, a fresh start for the kids, and there’s a lot of opportunity here,” Wahlberg told The Talk. “I’m really excited about the future.”




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600 airline passengers faced the weirdest sleepover ever, when snow left them stuck on planes overnight

Hundreds of people spent a snowy and freezing night trapped on board parked airplanes last Thursday.

Six flights, with around 600 passengers total, were unable to take off before Munich Airport’s 1 a.m. curfew due to the bad weather, the airport said in a Monday statement.

The airport police department has prepared a report on the incident, which is set to be submitted to the public prosecutor on Tuesday, Sven Otto, chief inspector for the Upper Bavaria North Police, told Business Insider.

He added that no complaints have yet been filed with the police by affected passengers.

Around 100 flights were canceled in Munich on Thursday, and temperatures dropped to 30 degrees Fahrenheit. There were long lines to de-ice planes, while runways were periodically closed at short notice to clear the heavy snowfall, the airport said.

Munich, Europe’s 10th-busiest airport, typically shuts at midnight, but it received a permit that day to operate an hour later.

When the six flights couldn’t depart on time, there was no space left to park at the terminal due to all the cancellations, the airport said.

However, the passengers couldn’t be transported to the terminal because “bus service was severely restricted” due to “the late hour and communication problems,” it added.

Five of the flights were operated by Germany’s Lufthansa Group, and another by Air Arabia, a budget airline based in the UAE, according to the airport.

It said that airlines “provided the passengers with the best possible care on the aircraft.” Although those on board spoke of their distress.

“There was no food or drink for us. There were no blankets for us either,” Søren Thieme, who was on one of the Lufthansa planes, told Ekstra Bladet, a Danish newspaper that first reported the incident.

He said passengers on the canceled flight to Copenhagen asked if they could enter the airport, but they were told it was forbidden, and that all the bus drivers had gone home.

“We’re simply trapped here, along with the staff, too,” he told the newspaper.

Lufthansa and Air Arabia did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider.

Munich Airport said it “apologized expressly” to the affected passengers.

“Our top priority is always the safety and satisfaction of our passengers, and these incidents do not meet our standards.”




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We wanted to get away from the cold, so we left Michigan and retired in Panama. We’re not planning to move back.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Greg Kitzmiller, a 64-year-old American retiree living in Panama. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I was born and raised in Michigan, where I met my wife, Jen, and where we built our life together.

In 2016, I retired from my job as a manufacturing supervisor. My wife retired from her law career over a year later.

The year before she retired, my main goal was to find a place where we could live the best life during our retirement. I did a lot of research on various countries, and Panama kept coming to the top of the list.


A man and woman standing on the beach in Panama.

For their retirement, the couple wanted to live in a warm place where their money could go further.



Greg Kitzmiller.



We were eager to escape the snow, so my first priority was eternal summer. We also wanted to stay close to the US to make traveling back easy. The fact that Panama uses the US dollar only added to its appeal.

We hadn’t spent our whole lives planning to retire abroad, but after watching HGTV shows, we both thought that this was something we could do.

Panama also offers a special Pensionado visa for retirees, which comes with incentives such as discounts on utility bills, medication, and even transportation.

Before making the move, we took a few exploratory trips to Panama. Our first trip was a weeklong in October 2017. After my wife retired, we came back in February 2018 for a nine-week trip, touring different areas to see if it felt like the right fit.


Snow-covered driveway of a house in Michigan.

Coming from Michigan, they were eager to get away from the snow.



Greg Kitzmiller.



During that trip, the weather was beautiful. When we went home to Michigan and saw the snow on our driveway, my wife turned and said to me, “We’re moving, right?” And I said, “Yeah, we are.”

We sold our house quickly. We held a few garage sales, donated what we didn’t need, and fit our lives into five suitcases. In June 2018, we officially moved to Panama.

Our kids were OK with the decision.

We have two daughters in Texas and one in Alabama. We’re no further from them now than we were in Michigan. Moreover, the world has gotten so small. We can get on a video call with the kids and the grandkids anytime.

With the help of a real-estate agent, we bought our two-bedroom condo for $210,000 in Coronado, which is about an hour and a half from Panama City by car.

Our condo is in a country club community, where the golf course wraps around our building, and we have 180-degree views of the ocean and the mountains.


View from a condo bedroom in Panama.

The couple bought a two-bedroom condo in Coronado.



Greg Kitzmiller.



Even though I’ve joined several Facebook groups, it’s the people we met at church that make up the core of our social circle.

Moving to Panama sparked an unexpected passion for writing.

When we started talking about moving here, one of Jen’s friends at work said, “Well, you should write a blog.”

It wasn’t that easy, since I’m not very tech-savvy, but I did it. I still maintain the blog and publish a newsletter. And, right after we got here, I connected with a writer’s group.

Being a part of that group led me to do a lot of things in my retirement that I never thought I would do.


Bookshelves in a bookstore in Panama.

Kitzmiller published his first book about his experience retiring in Panama in 2020.



Greg Kitzmiller.



I published my first book in 2020 about our experience of retiring in Panama. Since then, I’ve started writing in different ways, including a detective fiction series — I’m working on the fourth installment.

Writing wasn’t something I expected to do in my retirement, but there’s a strong community of artists, authors, and musicians here. When you surround yourself with other people who are talented in those ways, it fosters your own talent.

My retirement has been very fulfilling.

Our health is better, too. It helps that there is always an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables around.


A couple smiling over a meal at a restaurant.

Kitzmiller says being surrounded by a thriving community of artists has encouraged his own passion for writing.



Greg Kitzmiller.



If I had it to do over, I would’ve learned Spanish when I was young. When you’re in your 60s, it’s hard to learn a new language. I almost always understand what’s being said, but don’t verbalize very well, unlike my wife, who is fluent.

Every day’s a little different. We have a few social groups, including one where we play dominoes every week. We rotate between houses, someone makes lunch, and we spend the afternoon playing.

Initially, we figured we’d come for 10 years and then evaluate if we wanted to stay. It’s only been eight years, but we’ve already decided that this is where we want to be.

We’re not planning to move back to the US. There’s honestly not much we miss.

Do you have a story to share about relocating to a new city? Contact this reporter at agoh@businessinsider.com.




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I left the US in 2015 and have since lived around the world. Reverse culture shock hit me harder than leaving ever did.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kat Smith, 35, who has lived abroad since 2015. Smith, the founder of Away Abroad, a website for female travelers, currently lives in Trieste, Italy, with her husband. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

I think people don’t always believe me when I say it, but living abroad has always felt more fun to me. I love the cultural challenges, the language barrier, the different food, and the process of figuring out the day-to-day.

I’m originally from Conyers, a small town just outside Atlanta. In high school, I moved to Athens, Georgia. It was a typical small, suburban place — there weren’t many people traveling internationally. Certainly, no one was moving abroad the way I eventually did.

When I was 18, between graduating from high school and starting at the University of Georgia, my parents basically forced a gap semester on me. They came home from a dinner party one night and were like, “Instead of going to college, you’re going to Guatemala.”

I did not want to go, but hindsight is 20/20.

Going to Guatemala was the best thing that could have happened to me. While I was there, I met a Peace Corps volunteer. Spending time with them and being in the country changed my perception of the world and opened my eyes to what was even possible.

When I got back and started university, I met with an advisor who had also served in the Peace Corps. After talking with him more, it just felt like the right path for me.

Living abroad changed me as a person

In 2013, almost exactly a month after I graduated from university, I joined the Peace Corps and left the US for Ecuador.

At the time I applied, you didn’t really have much say in where you went. I basically said, “Send me anywhere in the world,” and they sent me to Ecuador. During training, they placed me in a community based on my skill set and the community’s needs.

I ended up in Tumbaco for 3 months for training and then in Arenillas, a really small town in the southwestern province of El Oro, where I lived for about two years.

When my service ended, a friend of mine and I hitchhiked through the Peruvian Amazon and ended up working at an eco-lodge in the middle of the rainforest for a few months.


A man sits in a boat, bananas sit on the boat's floor, and a sunset looms in the background.

Smith’s boat ride on the Amazon River.

Courtesy of Kat Smith



Around that time, in 2015, my dad was like, “Okay, you haven’t been home in almost three years. I’m buying you a ticket—you’re coming to visit.” So, begrudgingly, I went back to the US.

I remember feeling reverse culture shock more intensely than I ever felt culture shock. It completely caught me off guard. All of a sudden, the US didn’t feel like home anymore. I felt like I didn’t fit in.

I also knew I wasn’t the same person I’d been when I’d left, which created an internal conflict. I don’t want to be that dramatic, but I had a different mindset, and trying to be the old me was hard.

I’ve traveled and lived all around the world

Over the years, I’ve lived in Panama City, been to Colombia, worked on a yacht in the South of France, and backpacked through Eastern Europe for a couple of months. I also backpacked between Vietnam and Thailand, and taught English in South Korea.


A man and woman, in wedding attire, stand in front of a bright pink wall in Colombia.

Smith and her husband, Rafael Tudela, in Cartagena, Colombia.

Courtesy of Kat Smith



Somewhere in the middle of all of that, I fell in love and got married in Colombia in 2018. Not long after, my husband and I moved to Vietnam, where we stayed for three years while I was teaching English, before leaving in 2021 because of COVID restrictions.

After Vietnam, we went back to the US for a while. We bought a van, converted it, and traveled up and down the West Coast. I loved nature, but after a few months, I was ready to leave again.


A woman sits in the back of an open van, mountains stand before her.

Smith inside of the van she traveled with across the West Coast.

Courtesy of Kat Smith



So we tried Albania next. We stayed for a couple of months, but it didn’t feel like the right long-term fit. Instead, we kept moving and spent time around the Balkans — traveling through Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia, and Croatia.

My journey hasn’t been perfect

Looking back, I’ve made a few mistakes along the way.

One of the things I cringe about most is how I treated my friends and family back home. I was pretty insensitive about their choices — friends who just wanted to graduate, buy a house 10 minutes from where they grew up, and settle into a typical, structured, no-surprises kind of life. I think I judged that because I felt like what I was doing was so extravagant.

But honestly, I was a bit of a brat about accepting other people’s paths.

I did something similar with my family, too. I didn’t really consider what it meant for them when I left. I was so focused on what it meant for me, and not necessarily on how it was affecting everyone around me.


A group of friends walk down a street in Seoul, Korea.

Smith and friends exploring a neighborhood in Seoul.

Courtesy of Kat Smith



Italy is home — for now

In 2023, we moved to Italy for a job opportunity for my husband. He has an EU Blue Card — basically a work permit for skilled workers — and I’m on a family reunification visa linked to his.

We’ve been living in Trieste for the past 2.5 years. Trieste is fantastic, but it’s also an up-and-coming city that’s gotten really expensive, fast. Even in the short time we’ve been here, we’ve seen a big jump in costs. Our rent, for example, increased by $308 a month, which still feels crazy.

Our apartment is really nice: one bedroom, one bath, open floor plan, and close to everything. I’m really into nature, and we have a beautiful view of the sea and the hills. We were paying $1,423 a month, and now it’s $1,732.


A city view of Trieste.

The view from Smith’s apartment in Trieste.

Courtesy of Kat smith



That rising cost of living is one of the reasons we started looking at other places — just to get more for our money.

We ended up buying an apartment in Belluno for $260,955, and we’ll move in April. Belluno is a much smaller town, kind of a gateway to the Dolomites, and it sits north of Venice. We’re big mountain people, and the Dolomites are genuinely my happy place. Being closer to them means we can hike and snowboard more regularly without a long drive, which was a huge perk for us.

Although we didn’t choose Italy initially and only moved here for my husband’s job, there are a lot of reasons we’ve chosen to stay rather than move on like we typically do after a few years.

Italy has a strategic geographic position. I love living smack dab in the middle of the world. Not only is this exciting adventure-wise, but it’s also meant more people have been able to visit us, including our parents, who aren’t as keen on the long-haul flights.


A woman and her dog stand on a walking trail, sitting high above a city in Montenegro.

Smith and her dog on a hike in Montenegro.

Courtesy of Kat Smith



On top of that, the culture clicks for both of us. As an intercultural couple, we have different triggers, things we look for, and things we want to avoid. Northern Italy has provided the perfect balance for us.

I really hope Italy can be our home base, at least for the foreseeable future. But I also know myself: If, two years from now, it doesn’t feel right, we’ll pivot. I’m not setting a deadline; it’s more about whether it still feels like home. And right now, it does.




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A woman in glasses wearing a blue dress standing in front of a bush.

A GoFundMe was set up for James Van Der Beek’s family — ‘the extended fight against cancer have left the family out of funds’

Actor James Van Der Beek’s wife, Kimberly, appears to have backed a GoFundMe in the wake of the “Dawson’s Creek” actor’s death on Wednesday from colorectal cancer.

The campaign — shared on both James and Kimberly’s Instagram stories — states the mother of the star’s six kids as the organizer.

The initiative, which had raised over $598,000 toward the 1 million target by 7:30 p.m., primarily called for donations to help cover 48-year-old Van Der Beek’s medical bills.

“In the wake of this loss, Kimberly and the children are facing an uncertain future,” the text of the GoFundMe said. “The costs of James’s medical care and the extended fight against cancer have left the family out of funds.”

It said the bereaved family is “working hard to stay in their home and to ensure the children can continue their education and maintain some stability during this incredibly difficult time.”

Van Der Beek’s wife announced his death on Instagram

The appeal went on to say that financial support from others would make a “world of difference” as Van Der Beek’s loved ones “navigate the road ahead.”

The money raised was said to help fund the family’s living expenses, pay bills, and support the kids’ education.

“Every donation, no matter the size, will help Kimberly and her family find hope and security as they rebuild their lives,” the GoFundMe said.

In her Instagram story, Kimberly wrote, “My friends created this link to support me and our children during this time. With gratitude and a broken heart.”


Kimberly and James Van Der Beek

Kimberly and James Van Der Beek on the red carpet.

Phillip Faraone/Getty Images



A spokesperson for GoFundMe told Business Insider, “We are working with the organizer to ensure funds safely reach the intended beneficiary.”

They added, “Funds are being held safely by our payment processor in the meantime.”

Kimberly announced her husband’s death on Instagram, saying, “Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning.

“He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace. There is much to share regarding his wishes, love for humanity, and the sacredness of time. Those days will come.

“For now we ask for peaceful privacy as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend.”

2 months ago, the star said he felt ‘strong’

Van Der Beek received his cancer diagnosis three years ago. He made his final public appearance on NBC in December when he seemed optimistic about his health.

“I feel much, much better than I did a couple months ago,” Van Der Beek told interviewer Craig Melvin.

He added, “It’s been a longer journey than I ever thought it would be. It’s required more of me — more patience, more discipline, more strength than I knew I had. I knew I was strong — I didn’t know I was this strong.”

The same month, the 90s heartthrob auctioned off personal memorabilia from the filming of “Dawson’s Creek” to help his family and meet bills for his cancer treatment.




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I’ve traveled to over 40 countries. These 5 bucket-list destinations left me disappointed.

Back in 2010, a three-day layover in Cairo on an EgyptAir flight from London to Johannesburg felt like destiny calling. I’d always been mesmerized by ancient Egypt’s pharaohs, myths, and architecture. Stepping off the plane, however, the Egypt of my imagination vanished almost instantly.

In its place was a sprawling, brown city of intense heat, dilapidation, and overwhelming frenzy. From the moment I left the airport, I felt like a walking target. Every interaction, from a forced perfume-shop detour to navigating the aggressive markets, felt like a potential scam.

And then, there they were. The Pyramids of Giza. They are, undeniably, breathtaking. More massive, more majestic, more impossible than any picture could capture. Standing before them, I felt a genuine awe I will never forget. But the magic was short-lived.

Turning around, the view was dominated by fast-food joints directly across from the Sphinx. The air was thick not with ancient mystery, but with the shouts of hundreds of vendors and the exhaust of countless tour buses. Even the famous Nile River turned out to be a polluted dump, with a stench so foul that Baby Moses would rot in his little basket.




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Ashley Stewart Business Insider

Salesforce is replacing 5 high-profile leaders who have left since December with 6 new execs

  • Salesforce has appointed new leaders in an executive shake-up.
  • Six new hires and promoted executives will lead businesses like Agentforce and Slack.
  • The executives replace five high-profile leaders who have announced departures since December.

Salesforce has hired or promoted six new leaders, replacing five high-profile leaders who have announced departures from the company since December, according to a person familiar with the changes.

  • Iain Mulholland is the company’s new chief security officer, joining from Google. Mulholland most recently worked as the deputy chief information security officer for Google Cloud and Technical Infrastructure. He replaces Brad Arkin, who left Salesforce at the end of January after serving for just over two years.
  • Patrick Stokes, a longtime Salesforce executive, is the company’s new chief marketing officer. Stokes replaces Ariel Kelman, who left on Monday to join chipmaker AMD.
  • Dave Ward is Salesforce’s new chief architect. He joined from Lumen Technologies, where he was chief technology officer.
  • Joe Inzerillo, the company’s chief digital officer, is now president of enterprise and AI technology, overseeing both Slack and Agentforce. Agentforce has become one of Salesforce’s most important new AI services. CEO Marc Benioff has even suggested he might rename the company after Agentforce.
  • Salesforce promoted executives Rob Seaman, now executive vice president and general manager for Slack, and Madhav Thattai, executive vice president and general manager for Agentforce.

“Salesforce has always been a talent engine,” a Salesforce spokesperson said in a statement. “Our deep bench and proactive succession planning ensure that our strategy is institutionalized, not individualized. We’re confident in the leaders stepping into these roles and are excited for what’s ahead in FY27.”

Salesforce’s new fiscal year started on February 1. Some of the changes are yet to be announced widely internally.

Besides Arkin and Kelman, other high-profile executives have left Salesforce recently. The previous head of Agentforce, Adam Evans, announced his departure on Sunday.

“I’ve decided it’s time to start my next chapter outside Salesforce – returning to what I love most: building startups,” Evans wrote in a LinkedIn post. Evans spoke to Business Insider late last year for a story on Agentforce’s challenges.

Ryan Aytay, CEO of Salesforce’s Tableau business, announced his departure last week, and Slack CEO Denise Dresser departed in December to become OpenAI’s chief revenue officer.

Salesforce stock has been taking a beating among other software companies as investors fear competition from AI companies.

Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at astewart@businessinsider.com or Signal at +1-425-344-8242. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here’s our guide to sharing information securely.




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10 celebrities who left the US or are considering moving for political reasons

Updated

  • Since the 2016 US presidential election, celebrities have been saying they’d move out of the country.
  • More stars made similar comments after Donald Trump won the 2024 election.
  • James Cameron recently confirmed he’s continued to live in New Zealand for political reasons.

The lifestyles of the rich and famous often include mansions in California, penthouses in the big city, and maybe a small pied-à-terre in a foreign country. But as politics becomes an increasingly divisive topic in the United States, some more celebrities are moving out of the country — or saying that they will.

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi moved to England from California in response to the 2024 election results. Rosie O’Donnell — thanks to her Irish grandparents — is in the process of becoming an Irish citizen, citing the current US political climate as her reason for moving in a TikTok video. Other celebrities like Laverne Cox and Cher have vowed to leave the States but haven’t yet.

This isn’t exactly a new trend. During the 2016 US presidential election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, many stars vocally opposed Trump and threatened to leave America if he won. Now, with Trump’s second term underway, celebrities are again considering relocating — not that the Trump administration is too upset.

“Good riddance!” White House assistant press secretary Taylor Rogers told BI when asked for the administration’s response.

Celebrities aren’t the only ones exploring a new place to live. Search interest for “move abroad” shows that peak interest occurred in November 2024. Though interest has since cooled off, it’s still higher than in previous years.

Bureaucracy.es, an immigration services site that helps Americans moving to Spain with the visa application process, told CNN in December 2024 that it’s seen over 300% more clients book consultations since the November election.

Here are 10 celebrities who have moved abroad, or say they will for political reasons.

Olivia Singh contributed to previous versions of this post.

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi in June 2023.

Dave Benett/Getty Images for RH

In late November 2024, TheWrap reported that comedian Ellen DeGeneres and her wife, Portia de Rossi, left their Montecito home for the Cotswolds, England. The publication said their move to the countryside was triggered by Trump’s election and a source said they’re “never coming back.”

An August 2025 Us cover story notes that DeGeneres told English broadcaster and host Richard Bacon during a July 20 event that she and DeGeneres were in the Cotswolds when the election results came in. “We were like, ‘We’re staying here. We’re not going back,'” DeGeneres told Bacon on their reaction to Trump’s victory.

According to the Us story, DeGeneres and de Rossi have since moved from the original home they purchased in the Cotswolds and now live in a 10,000-square-foot country home called Hiaven. The pair tend to their chickens, sheep, and horses and walk to the local pub for lunch.

Rosie O’Donnell


Rosie O'Donnell in October 2024.

Rosie O’Donnell in October.

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

In a video recently posted on TikTok, Rosie O’Donnell confirmed that she moved from the US to Ireland with her youngest daughter, Dakota. The actor relocated on January 15, days before Trump’s inauguration.

“Although I was never someone who thought I would move to another country, that’s what I decided would be the best for myself and my 12-year-old child,” O’Donnell said in the video.

The talk show host, who has Irish grandparents, said her experience so far has been “pretty wonderful” and she’s in the process of getting Irish citizenship.

O’Donnell said that she misses her four other kids and her friends, but will remain in Ireland for the time being.

“I miss many things about life there at home, and I’m trying to find a home here in this beautiful country,” she said. “And when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there, in America, that’s when we will consider coming back.”

Sophie Turner


Sophie Turner in Paris in March 2025.

Sophie Turner in March.

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

UK-born actor Sophie Turner moved to America after marrying singer Joe Jonas. The couple first lived together in Los Angeles and later in Miami with their two daughters Willa and Delphine. Turner and Jonas sold their Miami home in August 2023 and news of their plans to divorce broke weeks later.

In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar published in October 2024, Turner said that she was homesick while living in the US and struggled with the country’s politics. Turner has since moved to West London.

“The gun violence, Roe v Wade being overturned… Everything just kind of piled on,” Turner said.

After the 2022 Uvalde shooting, in which 19 elementary school children and two teachers were killed, Turner said she “knew it was time” to leave.

Barbra Streisand


Barbra Streisand in June 2024.

Barbra Streisand in June.

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Genesis Prize Foundation

It was no secret that Barbra Streisand wanted Hillary Clinton to beat Trump in the 2016 election.

“He has no facts,” Streisand told Australian “60 Minutes” host Michael Usher in a 2016 interview prior to the election. “I don’t know, I can’t believe it. I’m either coming to your country, if you’ll let me in, or Canada.”

Streisand didn’t move out of the US, but she did criticize Trump in her 2018 studio album “Walls.”

In a 2023 interview with Stephen Colbert, Streisand said that she liked Joe Biden and thought he did a “good job.” When asked about the possibility of a second Trump administration, Streisand again said she’d move.

“I can’t live in this country if he became president,” she said, adding that she’d probably move to England.

Per an Instagram post shared in early January amid the Los Angeles wildfires, it appears that Streisand still lives in Northern California. Reps for Streisand did not reply to a request for comment.

Cher


Cher in February 2025.

Cher in February.

Taylor Hill/FilmMagic

In November 2016, Page Six reported that Cher threatened to move if Trump was elected.

“I’m gonna have to leave the planet,” she reportedly said at a fundraiser for Clinton.

She had a similar stance before Trump officially ran for reelection.

“I almost got an ulcer the last time,” she told The Guardian in October 2023. “If he gets in, who knows? This time I will leave [the country].”

However, as of publication, it doesn’t appear that Cher has relocated. Reps for Cher did not reply to a request for comment.

Laverne Cox


Laverne Cox in March 2025.

Laverne Cox in March.

Karwai Tang/WireImage

Days after the 2024 presidential election, “Orange Is the New Black” star Laverne Cox appeared on the podcast “Just for Variety” and spoke about the impact the results would have on the transgender community.

Cox said that she and some friends were considering moving, but no plans have been solidified yet.

“We’re doing research on different cities in Europe and in the Caribbean,” Cox said.

“I don’t want to be in too much fear, but I’m scared,” the actor added. “As a public figure, with all my privilege, I’m scared, and I’m particularly scared because I’m a public figure. I feel like I could be targeted.”

Lena Dunham


Lena Dunham in September 2024.

Lena Dunham in September.

John Phillips/Getty Images

At the 2016 Matrix Awards, “Girls” actor Lena Dunham said that she was serious about moving if Trump won the election.

“I know a lot of people have been threatening to do this, but I really will,” Dunham said. “I know a lovely place in Vancouver and I can get my work done from there.”

But after the election results, Dunham changed her mind.

“I can survive staying in this country, MY country, to fight and live and use my embarrassment of blessings to do what’s right,” she wrote in part in a note shared on Instagram.

“It’s easy to joke about moving to Canada,” she added. “It’s harder to see, and to love, the people who fill your mailbox with hate. It’s harder to see what needs to be done and do it. It’s harder to live, fully and painfully aware of the injustice surrounding us, to cherish and fear your country all at once. But I’m willing to try. Will you try with me?”

Dunham did eventually leave her home in New York and moved to London. However, in an interview with the New Yorker published in July 2024, the actor said the move was prompted by work opportunities.

8. Robin Wright


Robin Wright

Robin Wright

Antony Jones/ Getty Images

Robin Wright, known for her roles in “Forrest Gump” and “House of Cards,” relocated to England for work and decided to make the move permanent.

Wright spends most of her time in the Chiltern Hills, a rural part of England about 44 miles outside London, and enjoys the peace and quiet it offers compared to her former home of Los Angeles.

“They’re living,” Wright told UK publication The Sunday Times in August. “They’re not in the car in traffic, panicked on a phone call, eating a sandwich. That’s most of America. Everything’s rush, competition and speed.”

Wright mentioned during an appearance on The View that the UK’s tax breaks make it advantageous for production, which is why she relocated there in the first place, but she’s enjoyed her break from the US.

“I’m troubled, like many of us are, about this state of our country,” Wright said. “It’s not the reason, I just — I’m so tranquil over there.”

Richard Gere


Richard Gere and Alejandra Silva.

Richard Gere and Alejandra Silva.

JORGE GUERRERO/AFP via Getty Images

“Pretty Woman” star Richard Gere and his wife Alejandra Silva sold their house in Connecticut for $10.75 million in November 2024 and moved to Spain.

Gere said the plan was to be closer to Silva’s family in Spain, but on his way out of the country, he had some choice words about the US.

“We’re in a very dark place in America where we have a bully and a thug who’s the president of the United States,” Gere said during a speech at Spain’s Goya Awards in February.

Silva told The Daily Mail that the move was not permanent, and that they plan on going back and forth between Spain and the US.

“We’re always coming back,” she said. We’ll come back here in the summer because we have the kids at camp. We just have to balance our lives there and here.”

James Cameron


James Camerson in a black jacket

James Cameron.

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

The billionaire filmmaker has been visiting New Zealand since the 1990s, but he set roots there once the pandemic hit in 2020.

Since then, Cameron has had another reason for staying.

“I’m not there for the scenery, I’m there for the sanity,” he said in a January 2026 episode of “In Depth with Graham Bensinger.”

Along with supporting how New Zealanders handled the pandemic, Cameron has also voiced his opposition to Donald Trump. That led to Camera not just living there, but also making all his “Avatar” movies in the country. He became a citizen of New Zealand in 2025.

“I think it’s horrifying,” he told the New Zealand outlet Stuff in 2025 about Trump’s reelection. “I see it as a turn away from everything decent. America doesn’t stand for anything if it doesn’t stand for what it has historically stood for. It becomes a hollow idea, and I think they’re hollowing it out as fast as they can for their own benefit.”




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