Chelsea Handler explains why she breakup with Jo Koy

• Chelsea Handler is discussing her split from Jo Koy in July.
• That she believed the two didn’t agree on certain crucial points.
• Chelsea, though, confirmed their breakup over the summer before their anniversary.

Chelsea Handler is discussing her split from Jo Koy in July. The comedian admitted on Brooke Shields’ podcast now what? That she believed the two didn’t agree on certain crucial points.

“There were just some behaviors that we couldn’t agree on, and it felt to me like I would have to abandon myself—which maybe I would have been OK to do if I were 20 or 25—but I wasn’t willing to do that,” the 47-year-old explained on the Dec. 27 episode, per Entertainment Tonight. “No matter how much I loved this person, and I loved him so much, I was not going to abandon myself.”

Chelsea went on, “I said, “I’m not going to change this, and I’m not going to behave differently so that you feel more at ease. I won’t be doing that. Additionally, I had to end a relationship that I truly thought would last forever, which was painful.”

Even though she claimed she and Jo attempted “everything I could think of,” including counseling, to try to make their relationship work, she eventually came to the conclusion that their efforts were “futile.”

Chelsea didn’t specify what they had been at odds over, but she did cryptically acknowledge that “leaving him was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.”

Chelsea and Jo, both 51, frequently appeared on the 2007–2014 program Chelsea Lately. During the epidemic, their friendship evolved from platonic to amorous. I thought, “That’s a bummer,” as he was leaving, the news cover star exclusively said. “Or I would wonder where Jo Koy was if I hadn’t heard from him for a few days. He generally gets up my arse. Then I began to understand, “Oh, he’s not bothering me.””

Chelsea, though, confirmed their breakup over the summer before their anniversary.

“To be loved and adored by @jokoy has been one of the greatest gifts of my life,” she wrote in July. “He renewed my faith in men, in love, in being 100% who I am, and I’ve never been more optimistic for the future. Jo- you blew my creativity open, my lust for working hard again, being on the road again, and you reminded me who I was and always have been, and my feet have never been more firmly planted in the ground.”