Hollywood Star Flees Los Angeles for the American Heartland: 'We Put Our Family First'
Actress Ali Larter has packed her bags leaving behind the hustle and bustle of Hollywood for a quieter life in the Idaho plains.
The 48-year-old "Legally Blonde" star told Fox News that she and her family left Los Angeles during the pandemic to move to Sun Valley, Idaho, and now they have no plans to return.
"It was during COVID and our kids' schools were shut down, and so we just went for two months," she shared. "We were like, OK, we'll go ski."
Larter told the outlet she didn't initially plan on staying long term but felt it would be a good move for her two children Vivienne, 9, and Theodore, 3, whom she shares with actor Hayes MacArthur.
MacArthur told Rue Magazine he was not entirely sure where they would end up, but they were searching for something better.
"The industry was at a total standstill and our kids were stuck on screens with remote schooling," recalls Hayes. "So, after a year, we just packed up the car and bounced."
Larter says they just headed north and ended up in the "peaceful mountains of Idaho."
"We fell in love with the beauty of the mountains and their quiet grandness," she told Rue.
The actress says she not only loves the scenery but the community they have found.
"We're like, 'Let's give it a go,' and we were really, really lucky to find an amazing community there," she said. "And we really, really responded to the ethos of that town. It's a simpler life with really generous people, and there's accountability when you live in a small town that we really loved raising our children in."
Larter adds that the "simpler life" was an unexpected but welcomed change for both her and her family.
"I think that the families that grew up there, that stayed there and the families that have moved there, so much of it is about family and nature," she said. "There's no big box stores, right? Like you're not sitting on freeways. Like there's just there's more time in the day to, I think, to appreciate and acknowledge life and as a family with me and my husband who are now working so much."
She added, "When we're together, we're there. And that's a really, really beautiful place. And yeah, we just love raising our children there. We didn't know it was possible."
The "Legally Blonde" actress shares that she is happy to call Idaho home, a phrase she would have never thought of saying a few years ago.
"I don't think Hayes and I ever thought that we would be able to leave Hollywood, and then after the pandemic, you know, it really shook up our town and a lot of the work has moved anyway. So, my husband's shooting 'The Runarounds' in Wilmington, and I'm in Fort Worth doing 'Landman' and we wouldn't be in LA anyway, so I think it's been really exciting that we took the bold move to pivot, and we put our family first, and we're really excited and proud of that decision."
The couple has cemented their decision to move there by building a 4,400-square-foot home.
"Looking at the mountains relaxes and inspires me," Larter shared. "Most of the time in my life, I feel like I'm going 1,000 miles an hour and these giant rocks chill me out."
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