Speaking to People magazine, Kaley Cuoco, the former “Big Bang Theory” actress, discussed ditching Hollywood for a ranch called Thousand Oaks to the north of Los Angeles where she can focus on her farm animals, dogs, and half-donkey, half-zebra zonkey instead of the chaos of LA life. She said that the ranch is “more family-oriented.”
Speaking to People from inside her barn, Cuoco discussed wanting to live somewhere away from Los Angeles after having been in the acting business for decades on end, saying that she wanted to live somewhere “more grounded” and “more real” than the Hollywood Hills and all that comes with them.
She said, “I wanted something away from L.A.” She continued, “I love being an actor and I love the business, I really do, I’ve been in it my whole life. I know nothing else for 30-plus years. But I knew I needed a special place that wasn’t that and that felt more grounded, felt more real, felt more family-oriented because I do love that side of my life, but this is equally as important to me.”
Adding to the family aspect of the ranch and why she chose it, Cuoco said, “I was like, ‘I want my own ranch. I want my own place.’” She continued, “And I wanted a place for my family. My family’s family and my child and my brain.”
Further, she described what aspects of the ranch help it feel more grounded and real than LA, saying, “I come out here and there’s no phone. You’ve got to get on [your horse] and you ride, and then you get off and you grab a carrot, and you go walk in to see all the little animals and they’re all running up to you and it’s like, ‘Oh, my gosh,’ you just feel so honored.”
Cuoco also spoke about how the ranch adopts all manner of animals in need of a home, telling People, “Obviously, I rescue dogs and everyone knows that about me, but I’ve really expanded to farm animals and I’ve learned a lot about that and even thoroughbreds and horses off the track and really anything with four legs is welcome here. We don’t really turn anyone away. It became this magical place.”
She added, on that topic, “They love you no matter what. We’ve taken animals out of terrible situations, and to see the growth in how they thrive here, they’re all so happy.” Continuing, she said, “To be able to give them that second chance at life. A lot of them are so much older, and it’s like living out their golden days here. It means the world to me to be able to give them that.”
Of all the rescued animals, her favorites are her goats. Asked about them, she said, “Oh, my goats. They are so hysterical. Well, no, I love my two cows too, Connie and Ronnie. The goats live with the pigs, who live with the chickens, who live with the ducks. They actually all live together with the mini horses and with our dwarf ponies as well, and it’s kind of beautiful.”
Featured image credit: By iDominick – https://www.flickr.com/photos/82924988@N05/16049011332/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37623416
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