Why ‘Smallville’ actor Tom Welling left ‘wild’ LA for quiet ranch life

Tom Welling decided to move out of Los Angeles due to how the city became during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The “Smallville” star, 48, left LA in 2020 with his wife, Jessica Rose Lee, and their son Thomas to move to a small town in northern California.

“LA was wild at the time,” Welling recalled to People in an interview published on Jan. 10. “There were no cars on the street, you couldn’t go anywhere.”

“People weren’t leaving their homes,” he continued. “Our first son was starting to crawl and we only had this tiny deck for him to play on. There was this thought of, we don’t know if we can be here anymore.”

Welling said he knew he wanted to eventually move out of LA but accelerated the timeline after visiting family in northern California and falling in love with a ranch.

The “Cheaper by the Dozen” star now enjoys not being a celebrity in his community.

“No one bothers you in a small town,” he said. “Everyone’s famous in a small town.”

While Welling still takes on acting projects, like his upcoming comedy “Chasing Summer” that’s set to debut at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, his wife has a business breeding horses.

“It’s peaceful,” he said of their life. “And it feels real.”

“When I was younger, I was always looking for the next big thing,” he also shared. “Now, I just want to be where my feet are.”

Welling and Lee tied the knot in 2019. They welcomed their second son, Rocklin, in June 2021.

The actor was previously married to model Jamie White from 2002 to 2015.

In January 2025, Welling was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence. He was arrested in an Arby’s parking lot in Yreka, Calif., just after midnight according to police records obtained by Page Six at the time.

In May, the charges were dismissed and he pleaded not guilty to a lesser charge, Us Weekly reported.

In addition to being sentenced to 1 year probation, he had to pay $619 in fines, $150 in restitution and attend a DUI program.