John Legend Plans to Leave California Amid Ongoing New Fires

The L.A. Wildfires in January have wiped out neighborhoods, schools, and memories affecting families like John Legend, who plan to move out of the area due to ongoing fires.

John Legend and Chrissy Teigen are considering making New York their new home, where they previously sold their $18 million pair of penthouses in 2020, noting they would not go back until their children were older.

“We’ve realized that because of work and everything, we’re really mostly going to be in Los Angeles, so we’re going to focus our home-building energy and renovation energy on what we’re doing in L.A.,” he told the Wall Street Journal in 2020. However, things may have changed in light of recent events.

“Chrissy and I have always considered returning to New York, where we once lived,” Legend told the Wall Street Journal. “We probably will, once our youngest ones grow up a bit. Every time nature shows its wrath, we wonder if it’s time to head back East. Who knows.”

“We’re always going to be aware we may have to pack up and go,” he later stated about what’s next for the family of six.

In the interview, he recalled seeing the “flames and billowing smoke from the Palisades fire” when he returned to L.A. from vacation on Jan. 7. He mentioned that their family’s “fears grew” as they watched the devastation unfold on TV in the following days.

“Our home was safe, but many weren’t so fortunate, and the threat still looms,” he added. “The fires were a collective trauma that shook everyone, including our kids.”

Legend explained his childhood to WSJ, stating that he grew up in a “working-class community.”

“My childhood in Springfield, Ohio, wasn’t as unnerving,” Legend explained. “I didn’t attend public school until I was 11. Up until then, my three siblings and I were homeschooled by our mom.”

As he reflected on his past, Legend acknowledged that the challenges he faced growing up shaped his perspective on the world—and the unpredictable nature of life in Los Angeles only deepened his desire to protect his family’s future.