Twilight star Kellan Lutz is opening up about his decision to leave Los Angeles and move his family to Tennessee.
“I never wanted to leave [California],” Lutz, 41, said during his Tuesday, August 11, appearance on the “Inside of You” podcast. “My wife and I … our hearts are still in California, especially Orange County. When I moved from Arizona and I started acting, I lived in the Valley. … And I love California. I really do.”
The Tarzan actor explained that he and wife Brittany Lutz, whom he married in 2017, ultimately decided to move away from L.A. for family reasons.
“The whole Tennessee move happened when we had our second kid. And my wife is born and raised in Orange County, city of Orange. Her family is awesome,” he said. “But post-COVID, a lot of people … fled California. A lot of people lost jobs and wanted to move somewhere a little bit more peaceful … and so her family chose to leave California, and we followed.”
Kellan added that once her family moved, Brittany, 39, “didn’t have a support system” to help with their kids when he was away for work. (The couple share daughter Ashtyn Lilly, 5, and son Kasen Lane, 4.)
“One of the kids got sick,” he continued. “[Brittany] felt really out of control as far as not being able to bring both kids there, or just kind of helpless. So she’s like, ‘Can we move?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, of course.’”
Kellan and his family moved to Franklin, Tennessee, in 2023, shortly after he and Brittany welcomed their son.
“There’s a lot of great things about Tennessee, especially Franklin where we live. We got some land, got great Bible studies that were part of great churches, great community,” he noted, adding that he still has a connection to L.A. despite living on the other side of the country.
“There’s a lot of actors,” he explained. “I’ve gone to probably more movie premieres in Franklin, Tennessee, than I have in L.A., the last couple years since I lived there. For whatever reason, the industry is still there, which I’m grateful for.”
However, there are some things about Tennessee life that Kellan and Brittany aren’t used to yet.
“We aren’t seasons people,” he said. “There’s tornadoes. My wife goes on red alert, especially when you have kids. We do miss good sushi and good Mexican food.”
Ultimately, Kellan said he and his wife still love California and hope to someday become a “bi-ish coastal” family.
