Paul Archuleta/Getty Images, CBS
- Rob Lowe says that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have brought a lot of attention to Montecito.
- The 57-year-old told E! News' "Daily Pop" his "neighborhood is never going to be the same."
- The actor also confirmed that the couple's bombshell Oprah interview was not filmed at his house.
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Rob Lowe said that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have brought a lot of attention to his neighborhood in Montecito, Santa Barbara.
The 57-year-old actor told hosts of E! News' talk show "Daily Pop" that while the couple "keep a low profile," they have heightened the level of interest in the area.
"They definitely have brought a lot of attention to my sleepy little town," said Lowe, who revealed he has lived in Montecito for the last 26 years.
"Let me tell you something, once the royals move into your neighborhood, the neighborhood is never going to be the same," he said, before adding that the couple lives "over the fence" from his first home in the area.
When asked by co-hosts Kym Whitley and Justin Sylvester if he was "mad" about the changes high-profile residents had brought, Lowe gave a two-fold answer.
"When Oprah moved in, that began the sort of resurgence of Montecito," he said. "Now that the royals are here - the good news is property values go up, the bad news is the lines are longer at Starbucks."
During their sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey in March, Markle and Harry said that they stayed at Tyler Perry's eight-bedroom, 12-bathroom mansion in Beverly Hills before they purchased their home in August 2020 and settled in Montecito.
Since moving to Montecito, The Guardian reported that Santa Barbara County sheriff's office was called to the couple's property nine times in nine months due to various reports of trespassing, alarm activations, and phone requests.
Business Insider's Hillary Hoffower previously reported that the area is a celebrity hot spot with other homeowners including Gwyneth Paltrow, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Oprah Winfrey, Jeff Bridges, and Ellen DeGeneres.
In the interview, Lowe also dispelled the rumors that Markle and Harry filmed the Oprah interview at his house. During the two-hour special, Oprah confirmed that they were not filming from the duke and duchess' home, but from "a friend's house."
"It's so funny. Everybody thinks the interview is shot at my house and then my friend Ted Sarandos who runs Netflix, everybody thought they shot it at his house," explained Lowe, before sharing his own theory.
"Here's my thing, and I have no idea, I think they just plain old shot it at Oprah's. I swear to you, and I think they just said it was a mystery location," he said.