Jonah Hill reveals why he ditched LA for a ‘very small town’ to raise kids with model wife as he joins Tinseltown exodus

Jonah Hill is one of the latest celebrities to open up about leaving Los Angeles in lieu of a quieter life.

The 42-year-old filmmaker explained why he and his wife, Olivia Millar, are raising their two children in San Diego.

‘I wanted to leave LA and raise a family outside of Los Angeles,’ the star, who recently announced he had quietly married and welcomed a second child, affirmed during a live recording of the podcast SmartLess on Saturday.

Hill said he left his hometown three years ago to live in ‘a very small town’ with ‘incredible’ neighbors, according to an account from People.

‘They never treat me weird or ask me about my job or anything,’ the actor effused. ‘And my neighbor is one of my great friends, Dr Sean…he’s here tonight. He never bothered me or was like, “Oh, what’s this person like?”‘

He also gave a shoutout to his wife, who was in the audience, and described her as ‘my best friend.’  

‘Shout out to my beautiful wife, Liv. Where is she? Oh, what’s up, baby?’ the screenwriter said while on stage at the Avalon Hollywood.

He also opened up about his Los Angeles upbringing to hosts Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett.

‘I grew up here. LA was such a cool place to grow up in the ’90s because you could go skateboard downtown or you could sneak into a movie premiere or you could go sneak into a comedy club and see Chris Rock or something,’ he reflected.

The Superbad star added, ‘You had access to show business stuff, but you had access to punk and skating and graffiti and all the naughty stuff. And there was no internet. It was just so awesome.’

Earlier this month, he dropped a major bombshell during a conversation with Martin Scorsese, spilling a slew of personal milestones.

As he revealed his marital status, he also noted, ‘And I have two kids now. The only thing that could separate me from my family is the editing room.’

Hill and Millar, daughter of 1980s supermodel Esmé Marshall, were first spotted together in Santa Barbara in September 2022.

They had their first child in June 2023.

Hill and his family are among the latest A-listers who have left the Hollywood spotlight for a more laid-back lifestyle.

Comedienne Nikki Glaser made the decision to return to her hometown of St Louis, Missouri, in 2022 after living in Southern California and thriving in the entertainment industry. 

The early stages of the move were documented on the E! reality series Welcome Home Nikki Glaser?, which featured her parents EJ and Julie Glaser.

‘I live in St Louis,’ she said last week while appearing on Live With Kelly and Mark. ‘I moved back to St Louis after COVID and kind of just got away from it all and stayed there.’ 

Similarly, Yellowstone actor Luke Grimes was a guest on The Joe Rogan Experience in March and discussed his move from Hollywood to Montana.

He moved with his wife, Bianca Rodrigues Grimes, and their one-year-old son, Rigel.

Josh Duhamel has also spoken openly about trading Los Angeles for an outdoorsy life in North Dakota with wife Audra Mari and their growing family.