Chelsea Handler explains why she split from 'old-fashioned' Jo Koy
Chelsea Handler split from Jo Koy because of his "outdated [and] old-fashioned" expectations that would have meant she needed to "compromise" in ways she wasn't willing to.
Chelsea Handler split from Jo Koy because of his "outdated [and] old-fashioned" expectations.
The 49-year-old comedienne split from the Golden Globes host in summer 2022 after almost a year of dating and though she was "happy" and "in love" with her fellow comic, she admitted she would have had to "compromise" too many of her own values to make things work between them.
Speaking on the 'Armchair Expert' podcast, she explained: “I felt like it was a decision between having a relationship and being full-on or choosing myself and my sanity — sanity is an overstatement — but I would have compromised my own value system...
“What I thought was a mature healthy relationship and what he thought was a mature healthy relationship were two different things and I would have had to compromise everything I stand for and I wasn’t willing to do that.
“We had a couple of instances where it was obvious that we had different ideas about togetherness and the amount of time we would spend together and the expectations of me as his girlfriend, which to me were very outdated, old-fashioned and not going to work.”
Chelsea knew ending their relationship was the right thing to do and she's proud of the "mature" way things were resolved between her and Jo.
She said: “The biggest takeaway from that relationship was…I was able to be in love in a vulnerable, mature, healthy way and that when I realised it wasn’t going to work out I was able to end it in a healthy, mature way and not divulge all of the stuff and the ugliness that may have happened in between because I didn’t want to focus on that.
“So that was a huge takeaway. I didn’t for one second doubt any of my decision-making."
The former 'Chelsea Lately' host recently revealed she has an "amazing" new partner but doesn't want to reveal his identity because of the scrutiny she and Jo faced.
Speaking on the 'Call Her Daddy' podcast, she said: “I’ve been down that road before with having a public relationship, my last relationship.
“It’s more out of respect for their privacy. I don’t want him to have to be exposed to my world.”
The former 'Chelsea Lately' host did reveal her new man is someone she met "a long time ago" but things only turned romantic between them last year.
She said: “We didn’t really become lovers until about six or seven months ago.
“I invited him to Mallorca on a trip with a group of friends. … I’ve known him for years. I’ve always been attracted to him, but he was not available. I always have wanted someone like him in my life.
“He’s sweet and so caring and completely sees me and understands that I am not available a lot.
"My life is pretty crazy, and he appreciates that. He’s around when I want him to be. He’s great.”
