Rosie O’Donnellis speaking out amid reports that she and fiancée Elizabeth Rooney havesplit.
On Monday, the television personality opened up about her relationship status in an interview withExtraat an event for her non-profit Rosie’s Theater Kids. O’Donnell, 57, told the outlet that she is “hoping for the best” and admitted it is “hard” to navigate her relationships in the public eye.
“I’m good,” she said. “We are still figuring things out — it’s hard in the public light … It’s hard for a person who is a normal person in a normal job. I’m kind of used to it … We are trying to figure it out … I am a hopeful person and I am hoping for the best.”
Instead of bringing Rooney as her date to Monday’s event, O’Donnell toldExtrathat she brought her children with her.
“They are supposed to be here and we are supposed to be taking photos with the family — my children and their respective dates,” she shared. “It’s a big night. They each brought their respective boyfriend or girlfriend.”
Bruce Glikas/WireImage
O’Donnell also seemingly deleted severalInstagram photosrelated to her engagement to Rooney.
Elizabeth Rooney/Instagram; Inset: Astrid Stawiarz/Getty
Afterkeeping their relationship out of the spotlight, O’Donnell had confirmed the couple’s engagement in October 2018 after dating for a year.
Calling Rooney a “wonderful woman,” the formerThe Viewco-hostopened up about the romanceearlier this year, explaining how they made their long-distance relationship work.
“She lives in Boston now and I live here in New York. It’s been a long-distance thing. It’s been great. I think she’s a wonderful woman,” said O’Donnell, who proudly praised Rooney for being an Army veteran and an undefeated boxer during her time of service. “She’s very much an equal, she’s very much her own person and loves what she does. She’s a pretty unbelievable young woman.”
Rosie O’Donnell and Elizabeth Rooney.Astrid Stawiarz/Getty
O’Donnell also joked about the pair’s 23-year age gap.
“I keep telling her I’m too old for her. But she doesn’t seem to care,” she said. “She’s like, ‘I was in the Army! I put my life on the line every day you think I don’t know who I want to date?’ I’m like, ‘All right I guess that’s true.’ She has a lot of good points.”
O’Donnell has been married twice. She shares four children — son Parker, 24, son Blake, 19, and daughter Vivienne, 16, and 22-year-olddaughter Chelsea— with first wife Kelli Carpenter, who she was with from 2004 to 2007. Her second ex-wife, Michelle Rounds,diedof an apparent suicide in September 2017 at age 46. They share one daughter, Dakota, 6.
source: people.com
