Of late, life looks like it has turned around for O’Donnell, 52, since she famously walked out on her hosting gig on The View in 2007.
Not only has she been invited back to host the ABC talk show, she is a happily married woman, has recently added another child into her brood of five, and is in a whole new world of health since losing 22 kilos.
But O’Donnell, who was forced into addressing her weight after suffering a heart attack in 2012, said she struggled to adjust to her new body.
“The fact that I look so different has been difficult and unexpected,” she told ABC News backstage after the show.
“Everyone assumes that obese people would just be jumping for joy that they were healthier and thinner and able to fit into store-bought sizes, we don’t have to go to the plus store. But it’s also filled with a lot of emotional turbulence, you wouldn’t expect.”
O’Donnell had a vertical gastric sleeve, which is a weight loss procedure similar to a gastric bypass but with less complications.
As a method of dealing with her lifestyle change, O’Donnell said that she has reached out to others in similar situations to get support.
“I have a group that I go to, where women talk about how they feel,” she said.
“A lot of marriages break up once one person gets healthy. Luckily, my wife is very healthy, always been healthy, loves me and encourages me to be healthy.”
The View host Rosie O’Donnell and wife Michelle Rounds.
O’Donnell said that prior to their wedding, her wife, Michelle Rounds, prompted her to start thinking about her health.
“When we decided to get married, she said, ‘But I want 40 more years and I don’t want you to die on me, so you need to do something for your health,'” she added.
Though it’s been a thorny process, O’Donnell is delighted with her new lease on life and to be back hosting The View.
“I feel good. I wouldn’t have said yes to coming back if I didn’t,” she added.
“The concept of being able to do this show in a way that celebrates and elevates women is hard for me to resist.”
