Rosie O’Donnell Opens up About Her Estranged Daughter Chelsea: “I Will Always Love Her”

Things are still complicated for this mother-daughter duo. Last month, Rosie O’Donnell’s estranged daughter, Chelsea Alliegro announced that she is pregnant and expecting her first child with husband Nick Alliegro in a tell-all interview just four days after the death of her ex-stepmother Michelle Rounds. Now, Rosie is opening up about why she thinks her daughter chose to announce her pregnancy in such a shocking way.

“She doesn’t always have the ability to make the right decisions in the moment," Rosie told E! News. "And a lot of the press who — in my opinion — have a predatory instinct towards her, have been told and warned by my lawyers to leave her alone.”

Rosie explained how Chelsea’s pregnancy announcement came about. Last month, when Rosie’s ex-wife Michelle Rounds died, the press reached out to Chelsea for a comment on the death of her step-mother which is when she disclosed that she was currently pregnant. That lead to her tell-all interview — and Rosie cited Chelsea’s history with mental illness as a possible explanation her actions.

Rosie and Chelsea.

“When you’ve lived in a family where one of the people is suffering, you’re used to this. But to say it’s not painful is a lie," Rosie continued. "I love her, I will always love her and she thinks I suck right now — that’s partly normal. I hope one day she’s able to understand the totality of her existence and find a way to incorporate the people who loved her for her first 18 years.”

The 20-year-old revealed her pregnancy news in an interview with the Daily Mail published on Tuesday, Sept. 19.

“It’s very exciting and I’m looking forward to it,” Chelsea told the publication. “I really don’t care if I have a boy or a girl, I’m just hoping for a healthy baby. Nick would really like a boy. But as far as I am concerned, so long as it’s healthy, that’s what matters.”

Chelsea, who said she was nine weeks pregnant at the time and due in May 2018, went on to say that her future child will not have a relationship with 55-year-old Rosie. “Rosie will not be in my child’s life,” she said, adding, “and no, I do not feel sad about that to be honest.”


Chelsea with her family in 2010.

Chelsea and Rosie’s relationship has been strained for years. Back in August 2015, the former View co-host tweeted that Chelsea — who was just 17 at the time — ran away from their home in Nyack, NY. Two weeks later, she was found in New Jersey with a man she had met via Tinder. Not long after turning 18, Chelsea (whom Rosie adopted as a baby with ex-wife Kelli Carpenter) moved to Wisconsin to live with her birth mother, Deanna Micoley.

These days, Chelsea — who met Nick, 31, at a Dunkin’ Donuts in 2016 and married him after three months of dating — lives in Texas with her husband. During her chat with the Daily Mail, Chelsea said that she will consider her adoptive mom Kelli, 50, and Nick’s mom as the child’s grandmothers. Rosie and Kelli are also the parents of Parker, 22, Blake, 17, and Vivienne, 14.

Chelsea also opened up about the death of Rosie’s second ex-wife, Michelle Rounds, who died of an apparent suicide at the age of 46 on Monday, Sept. 11. "I heard about it from my mother Kelli, she texted me," Chelsea said. "She told me that Michelle had committed suicide and she wanted me to know before I found out any other way. I was shocked. It was very sad to hear about her death.”

https://t.co/W5t4zg65RH
we have been here before Chelsea
u wanna go a few rounds in public
seems so

Michelle's death = money 4 Chelsea pic.twitter.com/cgqrp16EyC

— ROSIE (@Rosie) September 20, 2017

Not long after Chelsea’s interview made headlines, Rosie took to Twitter to suggest that her estranged daughter was only speaking out in exchange for money. “We have been here before Chelsea, [you] wanna go a few rounds in public, seems so,” Rosie wrote, adding, “Michelle's death = money 4 Chelsea [sic].”