In a bold family and personal decision, Rosie O'Donnell has cut off her daughter Chelsea O'Donnell from her $80 million estate. This occurred just before Rosie relocated to Ireland, following the 2024 U.S. presidential election won by Donald Trump.
Rosie O'Donnell's strained relationship with her daughter culminated in Chelsea being removed from Rosie's substantial estate, Yahoo Entertainment reported.
Over the years, Chelsea and Rosie's relationship has been fraught with complications and disagreements. Ultimately, the discord led to the significant decision by Rosie to exclude Chelsea from benefiting from two specific family trusts. In fact, legal documents reviewed indicated a clear omission of Chelsea and her descendants from any inheritance.
Following this, upon receipt of the exclusion documentation, Chelsea, showing a calm demeanor, proceeded with an application to legally adopt her birth mother's maiden name, Neuens. Symbolically, this act represents a significant shift in her identity, moving away from the O'Donnell lineage.
From the beginning, Chelsea's life has been consistently challenging, having been born with heroin addiction. Over the years, Rosie has publicly discussed Chelsea's mental health struggles, describing her as suffering from severe illnesses that have necessitated multiple hospitalizations.
Currently, Chelsea resides in a sober living facility in Marinette, Wisconsin, where she is working on her recovery. This step, in turn, reflects her ongoing efforts to overcome her troubled past and substance abuse issues.
Interestingly, the exclusion from Rosie’s estate doesn't seem to have impacted Chelsea significantly. According to sources close to her, she values emotional connection over financial gain, further highlighting a deep-seated feeling of never truly being understood or accepted by Rosie.
Expressing mixed feelings about her move, Rosie currently resides in Ireland. On one hand, she described her experience as largely positive, glorifying the kindness and warmth of the Irish people. On the other hand, Rosie admits to missing her other children and friends back in the U.S.
This international move, in part, was inspired by her dissatisfaction with the political climate in the U.S., specifically citing Donald Trump's election victory as a catalyst. As a result, Rosie is exploring the option of obtaining Irish citizenship, indicating her plan may not be short-term.
Furthermore, in addition to her physical migration, Rosie has taken to writing to express her feelings. She recently published a 30-stanza poem on Substack, in which she reflects on her frustrations with fame and her complicated relationship with Chelsea.
To begin with, the trust document explicitly defines the terms under which Chelsea is excluded from the inheritance. This formal decision is penned in legal language, clearly stating Chelsea and her children are not considered Rosie's direct descendants in terms of the estate’s distribution.
Moreover, a quote from the trust document reveals the precision with which Rosie decided to redefine her legal relationship with Chelsea: "the terms ‘the donor’s children,’ ‘child of the donor,’ ‘issue of the donor,’ and any term of like import shall not include Chelsea or any issue of Chelsea."
In parallel, Rosie's emotional struggles with Chelsea's decisions and conditions are depicted in her writings. For instance, one poignant part from her poem reads, "She wishes to change her last name/to her birth mom's maiden name/doesn't make sense to me/I am not her, I wish I could delete my fame/for her/to make life easier."
Throughout her fame, Rosie has made several public statements about the intricacies of adopting and raising Chelsea. For instance, in 2017, she described the arduous path Chelsea has been walking, emphasizing her mental and physical health struggles.
Nevertheless, despite her distance from Chelsea, Rosie remains connected to her other children—Parker, Blake, Vivienne, and Dakota. Moreover, her time in Ireland is still shaped by her U.S. experiences, reflecting the complexities of fame, family, and identity.
In the end, as she settles into life in Ireland, Rosie’s journey highlights the delicate balance between celebrity, family, politics, and the search for personal peace.
