Chelsea Handler is opening up about her breakup with ex Jo Koy, and where the two stand following their split earlier this year.
During an appearance on Tuesday’s episode of Brooke Shields‘ “Now What?” podcast, the 47-year-old “Chelsea Does” star revealed she and Koy haven’t been able to mend their friendship after she felt he wouldn’t take “accountability” for his actions in their breakup, despite her ex’s claims the two would always remain friends.
Chelsea and Jo had been longtime friends before they decided to turn their relationship romantic in 2021. The former couple split in the summer after dating for almost a year, however, Handler said she hasn’t “spoken to [Koy] in a while.”
As for how she believes the two could repair their friendship, Chelsea said, “I mean, there has to be some accountability, you know what I mean? Like, from him about what happened, because it was just ridiculous. I don’t think we can have a friendship until there’s some accountability and some responsibility taken.”
She said their relationship had “devolved” during the course of their 11-month romance.
“There was just some behaviors that we couldn’t agree on,” Handler told Shields. “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.”
While she noted that she “loved him so much,” Chelsea said she was “not going to abandon” herself. She recalled, “I was like, ‘I’m not going to change the way that I behave in order to make you feel more comfortable. I’m not doing that.'”
“I had to walk away from something that I really thought was going to be a forever relationship,” the comedian said.
When the former couple couldn’t come to terms over “several situations” despite seeking therapy, Chelsea said she realized that Jo was not her “person.”
She admitted that, “Walking away from him was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do.”
Back in August of this year, Koy spoke to Entertainment Tonight about his breakup and how he felt the two were in good standing.
“We’re great friends and that’s how it will always be,” the 51-year-old revealed. “I’ll always champion for her and she’ll always champion for me — and we’re gonna win, everyone wins.”
The comedian noted that their renewed status of friendship felt “great.” He explained, “It’s always been that way, so it’s the next chapter.”
After their split in July, Koy claimed that “the love is still there,” while speaking to TMZ about how they were coping with calling it quits.
“Everything’s good. We’re taking a break,” he said. “We’re great friends, we’ve always been great friends. The love is still there.”
Although he refrained from revealing who had initiated the breakup, at the time Koy revealed that the exes were still in touch.
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