‘The Talk’: Rosie O’Donnell Opens up About Estranged Relationship With Daughter Chelsea

Rosie O’Donnell’s relationship with her daughter, Chelsea, is on the mend, as she said when she co-hosted The Talk on Friday.

O’Donnell joined the daytime talk show on Friday for a typical discussion on parenting and relationships. She opened up about her infamous public feud with her 21-year-old daughter, and the long road to repairing their relationship over the last few years.

O’Donnell had previously told reporters from Entertainment Tonight that she was reconnecting with Chelsea, but has withheld most of the details until now.

“I think with my relationship with my daughter, Chelsea, it really has [been tested] because we went through some really public troubled times and, you know, she’s doing better now and we’re both communicating with each other,” O’Donnell said. “But when somebody does something unforgivable to you and you can forgive them and they can forgive you, there’s a kind of grace that descends upon the both of you, within that.”

O’Donnell’s public spat with her daughter reached its high point in 2015, when she reported her then-teenage daughter missing. Ultimately, Chelsea was found staying with a strange man, apparently of her own free will. She and O’Donnell took shots at one another in the headlines, and it seemed bleak for their relationship.

Last September, things got even more complicated when Chelsea revealed to The Daily Mail that she was pregnant. She was married to Nick Alliegro, and she said that the couple did not want O’Donnell to be involved in with their child.

“I’ve always wanted a family and I’m looking forward to it. But Rosie will not be in my child’s life — and no, I do not feel sad about that to be honest,” she said.

“Rosie and I don’t have a relationship any more. I don’t think it can ever be mended,” she added later on. “I really don’t think there is any hope for our relationship.”

Things finally started to turn around this year, however. In June, O’Donnell’s reps told reporters that she and Chelsea were finding common ground again. It seemed to coincide with Chelsea’s separation from Alliegro, which happened around the same time.

O’Donnell seemed to be a hit on The Talk this week, addressing a number of other topics in addition to Chelsea. The guest spot has been rumored to be an unofficial “audition” for her to permanently join the cast, replacing the recently resigned Julie Chen. There is still no official word on that, however.