Rosie O’Donnell Says Moving to a New Country Is ‘Not Easy’ but It’s the ‘Safest’ Option for Her Family

After confirming her move to Ireland earlier in March, the comedian said she’ll return to the U.S. “when it’s safe for all citizens to have equal rights”

Rosie O’Donnell in November 2024. Photo: Stefanie Keenan/Getty

Rosie O’Donnell is adjusting to life in a new country following her big move out of the U.S.

After confirming she’s officially living in Ireland earlier in March, the comedian, 62, opened up about how she and her 12-year-old child Clay have been getting used to the change in a TikTok shared on Thursday, March 20.

In the video, she expresses how “proud and impressed” she is of Clay’s resilience regarding their new home. She adds, “It’s not easy to move to another country, and we really felt as a family this was the safest and best thing for us to do.”

The View alum then recalls a recent shopping excursion she took in Dublin, where she’s currently living, which prompts her to open up about how the change in her environment has led her to notice a difference in her health.

“I feel healthier, I’m sleeping better without the stress and anxiety over what was happening politically in the country,” she says, referring to the U.S.

She then references her “feud” with President Donald Trump and how the changes he’s made in the country since he was inaugurated on Jan. 20 are a big reason why she left.

“I knew that it would really tax me emotionally to have to do that,” she says of living in the U.S. while President Trump is in office. “So I’m very happy that we made the decision that we made.”

She also shares how she’s grateful to have two cousins in Northern Ireland who have helped her adjust. In a previous TikTok, she revealed she was “in the process” of getting Irish citizenship as her grandparents are from Ireland.

Rosie O’Donnell shares a selfie driving on the “wrong side of the road”.Rosie O’Donnell/Instagram

In the same video, shared on March 11, O’Donnell shed some more light on her decision to leave the U.S.

“I was never someone who thought I would move to another country,” she began, before adding, “You know, I’m happy. Clay is happy. I miss my other kids. I miss my friends. I miss many things about life there at home and I’m trying to find a home here in this beautiful country and when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America, that’s when we will consider coming back.”

While she said that it was “heartbreaking to see what’s happening politically” in the U.S., she noted how “wonderful” it feels to be welcomed by the people of Ireland and the country as a whole.

“It’s been pretty wonderful, I have to say. The people are so loving and so kind, so welcoming. And I’m very grateful,” she said after living in the country for nearly two months.

Since announcing her move, she’s been documenting her efforts to immerse herself in Ireland’s festivities, including at the national St. Patrick’s Day parade in Dublin, which is attended by roughly 500,000 people, according to the Associated Press.

O’Donnell first hinted that she moved to Ireland in a series of Instagram posts on March 7. Alongside a selfie of her in a car, she wrote in the caption that she’d “bought a little used car to tool around the countryside on the wrong side of the road.”