As Rosie O’Donnell prepares for her return to television on Oprah Winfrey’s network OWN, she took the time to give an interview to O Magazine. According to the Los Angeles Times, O’Donnell opened up about her divorce from wife Kelli Carpenter.
Differences drove them apart, the 49-year-old media personality said.
“She wanted to play tennis at the country club, and I don’t do country clubs,” O’Donnell explained. “I tried. They made an exception for a gay family, and we joined. It was a big thing: ‘They let in a gay family—whoo!’ So I show up to play with her, and somebody comes out and says, ‘You can’t play unless you have tennis whites.’”
O’Donnell described the divorce as both “humbling” and “humiliating.” Her family has no history of divorce, she said. But she’s ready for a life change and told the magazine she was excited for the move to Chicago and her new show. She called it “a new beginning for me. For the first time in a long time, I’m excited.”
She has also gotten in control of her anger issues, she said. According to O’Donnell, her rage was a result of a chemical imbalance.
“I had, like, zero estrogen,” she said. “And since I got some, I’ve been able to function more normally. I’ve stopped being so angry.”
O’Donnell added that she didn’t think she was aware of just how angry she was during her time on “The View,” and during her public feud with Donald Trump.
