Chelsea Handler had ‘no choice’ but to break up with Jo Koy over his ‘old-fashioned’ expectations

Chelsea Handler “did not want to break up” with Jo Koy but felt like she “had no choice” due to their differing values.

During Monday’s episode of the “Armchair Expert” podcast, the former “Chelsea Lately” host finally revealed the reason behind her 2022 split from the comedian.

“I felt like it was a decision between having a relationship and being full-on or choosing myself and my sanity — sanity is an overstatement — but I would have compromised my own value system,” she explained to host Dax Shepherd.

Although Handler was “happy” and “really in love” with Koy, she knew they wanted different things in the long run.

“What I thought was a mature healthy relationship and what he thought was a mature healthy relationship were two different things and I would have had to compromise everything I stand for and I wasn’t willing to do that,” the “Chelsea” host, 49, said.

“We had a couple of instances where it was obvious that we had different ideas about togetherness and the amount of time we would spend together and the expectations of me as his girlfriend, which to me were very outdated, old-fashioned and not going to work.”

However, Handler still learned a lot from her year-long relationship with the “Domingo de Páscoa” star, 53.

“The biggest takeaway from that relationship was A, that I was able to be in love in a vulnerable, mature, healthy way and that when I realized it wasn’t going to work out I was able to end it in a healthy, mature way and not divulge all of the stuff and the ugliness that may have happened in between because I didn’t want to focus on that.”

The “I’ll Have What She’s Having” author said she also learned that she is “capable of accepting love” and “being vulnerable” in a romantic setting — and it “made [her] want more of it.”

“So that was a huge takeaway,” she said. “I didn’t for one second doubt any of my decision-making.”

Handler said that Koy helped remind her of her worth when her confidence was at an all-time low.

“He got me at a point in my life where I needed to be reminded of my strength and my power of who I am and he reinstalled that in me because I had kind of lost interest in my work and the job,” she shared.

Page Six exclusively revealed in September 2021 that Koy and Handler were dating after being friends for over two decades.

The pair quickly became one of Hollywood’s favorite couples, which made their July 2022 split even more shocking.

At the time, Handler told her Instagram followers they “decided together that it is best for us to take a break from our relationship right now.”

“This man blew my heart open with love and because of him, my life experience has changed forever. To be loved and adored by @jokoy has been one of the greatest gifts of my life,” Handler continued.

Handled credited Koy with her “renewed” faith in men, adding that she has “never been more optimistic for the future.”

At the time, she teased the reason for their split during a podcast appearance, noting that “you can’t change a person intrinsically.”

While she said it’s “nice to bend for people” and “learn how to compromise,” she was only “willing to do so much bending” until she reached “a line.”

Although Koy later said he and Handler were still “great friends,” she suggested the opposite while chatting with Brooke Shields on her “Now What?” podcast.