ROSIE O’DONNELL BREAKS HER SILENCE ABOUT VISITING HER DAUGHTER IN PRISON — “IT WAS A BIG DAY FOR BOTH OF US”. K2

The comedian said she and her daughter, Chelsea, have “gotten closer” since she was sentenced to prison time in October: “She’s not fighting it anymore.”

Rosie O’Donnell and Chelsea O’Donnell.Credit: Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic

Rosie O’Donnell is detailing the time she’s spent visiting her daughter in prison.

The comedian shared a post on Instagram and Substack reflecting on the anxiety she felt leading up to visiting her daughter, Chelsea, in prison, as well as her experience at the facility itself.

“For months she’s in lockdown,” O’Donnell wrote. “23 hours a day/45 mins of sun/but she must shower then too.”

The League of Their Own star said that she felt like she was “in a movie” when she spoke to her incarcerated daughter on the phone. She said that Chelsea was “scared but [won’t] say so,” adding that she’s “always masking feelings — since forever/Never saying what she needs.”

O’Donnell shared her complicated feelings as she prepared to visit Chelsea, whom she adopted with her then-partner Kelli Carpenter shortly after her birth in 1997. “I’m going to visit her soon,” she wrote. “I have tried to prepare myself/I know it will be difficult/But I must/As she asked me to/A first for her at 28 years old.”

Chelsea, who has struggled with addiction, was sentenced to prison time after her probation was revoked on Oct. 22, 2025. She was previously arrested three times between September and November 2024 on multiple drug charges. She eventually pleaded guilty to one felony count of bail jumping, one felony count of possessing methamphetamine, and one misdemeanor count of resisting or obstructing an officer.

O’Donnell said that she told Chelsea, “I may cry when I see [you] There in prison clothes,” and that her daughter responded, “Why mom — it’s not bad in here — I have friends now.”

“Hard to hear — but good to know,” O’Donnell said. “She’s somehow not suffering/Making the best of it.”

O’Donnell set the scene of the visitation day. “I arrive early,” she wrote. “It’s very hot/I’m wearing shorts/Waiting for her/In what looks like/A children’s nursery room.”

The actress said that she and her daughter were allowed “A hug hello and goodbye only” and that no money could be exchanged, nor could their hands move below the table.

O’Donnell said that she was overcome with emotion at the beginning of the visit. “My heart skips a beat/She looks good,” she recalled, noting that her daughter appeared “healthy” and “calm” with “rested blue eyes” and “clear skin” when she walked in the room.

“We embrace,” O’Donnell said. “She smells familiar/holds on tight/I stare into her eyes/ Shy smiles all around.”

The Sleepless in Seattle actress said that her daughter’s four children have yet to visit the prison, which she believes “pains” Chelsea.

“As the sky outside blackens/Looking ominous/I realize I’m sweating,” O’Donnell said. “I go splash cold water/On my face/As tears drop from my eyes/I try to shake the sadness/It’s hard enough for her.”

O’Donnell said that the visit, which was supposed to last four hours, was “cut short” by a tornado warning. “Chelsea slumps in her chair,” she wrote.  “Crestfallen — we [are] rushed out/A quick hug/And im back in the car.”

The weather didn’t let up. “It storms all the way to the hotel/As I try to process/All that’s happened,” O’Donnell wrote. “It was a big day for both of us/I conk right out/I sleep for hours/Proud of us both.”

Despite the difficulty of Chelsea’s situation, O’Donnell said that she has “hope” for her daughter’s future.

“She’s not fighting it anymore/This relationship we have,” she wrote. “Her sobriety helps so much/Gives me hope/and hope dies slowly/For families of addicts.”

The Tarzan actress said that her daughter “calls daily,” and that they have “gotten closer” through the “tense times” of her incarceration. “I’m grateful for that,” O’Donnell said. “That she’s alive/Looking forward to her release/Planning her post prison journey /Drug free.”

O’Donnell concluded that “unconditional love” and “forgiveness” are “a must/even when it seems impossible” at times.

“We live — we learn — we grow,” she wrote. “Even at 64.”