Rosie O'Donnell's daughter has applied to change her surname
Chelsea Belle O'Donnell - who is currently staying in a sober living facility in Marinette, Wisconsin - was adopted by the star and her then-partner, Kelli Carpenter as a baby, but in January, she filed to revert back to her birth mother's maiden name, Neuens, shortly after Rosie removed her from her will, court records seen by Entertainment Weekly have shown
14 April 2025
While the 'A League of their Own' actress - who has four other adopted children - noted the decision "doesn't make sense" to her, she is still "proud" of Chelsea.
In a poem shared to Substack titled "my child chelsea", Rosie wrote: "she wishes to change her last name/to her birth moms maiden name/doesn't make sense to me/I am not her."
She added, "im proud of her/living her truth/i respect her desires/her struggles her success...
'Same name or not/ that's my girl/ fierce and determined."
Chelsea has struggled with addiction herself and Rosie appeared to reference her struggles in her poem.
She wrote: 'She wants her privacy / i am her mom / the story is out there/ people judge and ask/ why didn't u try more ... /u should have done something else ... /I would never have ... /if she were mine ...' (sic)"
The former 'View' presenter noted "every adoption story is complicated" and "a primal wound/ sometimes doesn't heal".
She also wrote: [Chelsea's story was] made public by a series of bad decisions/ on everyones part/ when she was a young teen.
"Some things are hard to come back from/ why don't u talk about her more/ how can I/ what would I say (sic)"
Chelsea, who has four children, ran away from home at the age of 17 to live with her birth mother, Deanna Micoley.
She was arrested multiple times last year but Rosie revealed last month her daughter was "in a drug rehabilitation program and doing quite well."
She added to Entertainment Weekly: "I am very proud of her progress - we (her family) support and love her very much and are grateful for the opportunity she has to improve her health and find a way to live a life of sobriety."
Rosie relocated to Ireland with her youngest child Clay, 12, earlier this year ahead of Donald Trump's return as US president.
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