Jessica Biel Explains Why She and Justin Timberlake Decided to Leave Los Angeles

Actress Jessica Biel is opening up about her and Justin Timberlake's decision to move their family out of Los Angeles.

On Wednesday, May 22, while appearing on the latest episode of SiriusXM’s "Let's Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa," the mom of two admitted that it's difficult for her famous family to live in a big city without her and her husband being instantly recognized.

"I don't really think (people and the paparazzi) necessarily respect that, you know, if we're out and about with our kids,” she said. "It can be somewhat country dependent, where if we're in this country, in the States, it's kind of like state by state, you know. You get hammered on the East Coast, you kind of get hammered on the West Coast. That's why we don't really live there anymore.”

Biel admitted that she is well aware that as actors and performers, her and Timberlake by nature have "this major public-facing element" to their lives.

“It's just trying to create some normalcy for these kids," she added, "and we want to share our family with our loved ones and friends."

For the uninitiated, Biel and Timberlake put their Hollywood Hills home on the market back in Oct. 2021, listing it for $35 million, People reported at the time.

According to a source who spoke to the publication, the family decided to leave Los Angeles in part because they were spending less time in California and more time at their Montana home.

"They're rarely in L.A. and are happy to live in Montana," the source said at the time, adding that in the end Biel and Timberlake "just don’t think L.A. is great for the kids.”

No stranger to the spotlight, Biel went on to explain during her SiriusXM interview that when it comes to parenting, her and Timberlake have decided it will be up to their kids to determine just how "exposed" and public-facing they want their own lives to be.

“And I know this very social media world is where they exist and where they live and that will be a very big part of their life and their reality," she said. "I just don't want it to be on my account, so we try to engage in a way that feels authentic."

In the end, she explained, it's “just our family choice.”