Returning to the United States may be back on the table for Rosie O’Donnell, as the comedian says she misses living near her children.
The 64-year-old moved to Ireland with her youngest child in early 2025, citing the political climate following Donald Trump’s re-election, a desire to provide a safer environment for her non-binary child, and the loss of her Malibu home in a devastating fire.
Now, after her son Blake welcomed a baby boy in March, O’Donnell says she’s reconsidering a move home to be closer to her growing family.
“I sold everything before I left, and so I’m hoping to get a place in New Jersey near my kids so that I could, when I’m home, we can have a home base here as well. You know? So I’m planning on doing that,” she said on the Work in Progress podcast.
“It feels good and familiar. It also feels very loud. I feel a little bit more anxiety,” she said. “Sometimes, the days, New York wins. You know? New York is a beast, right? And that’s where I’m staying and where I’m doing the show.”
While she’s looking to spend more time in the U.S., O’Donnell said moving out of the country was the right decision. “I am so much calmer for it,” she reflected. “I can’t tell you the difference that it makes for my mental health and my happiness level. Because it’s very, very hard to experience joy when you’re in the thick of the [Jeffrey] Epstein library; when you’re in the thick of that young boy who was left on the island by friends; that you can’t believe what the Supreme Court is doing, and doing boldly in front of everyone. Is he going to let us have elections? That’s my big question.”
O’Donnell admits that the move “really does depend on what happens politically in the country and if I feel mentally healthy enough to battle those demons.”
She added, “Some days I feel very strong and other days I feel like, ‘Oh boy, this is a lot.’ You know? [Trump], like, bombards you. He’s always doing something. You can’t even watch the soccer game — he ruins everything, in my opinion.”
This story was originally published by Parade on Jul 18, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.