Chelsea Handler Opens Up About ‘Painful’ Jo Koy Split: ‘You Can’t Change a Person Intrinsically’

Putting herself first. Chelsea Handler is opening up about her split from Jo Koy days after confirming their breakup.

“It’s nice to bend for people. It’s nice to learn how to compromise. It’s nice to learn how to demonstrate my love publicly. I believe Jo needed that,” Handler, 47, said during a Wednesday, July 20, appearance on the “We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle” podcast. “I was so inspired by us, but Jo didn’t crack me open. My psychiatrist cracked me open, and then I was open, and then I was able to bend for somebody. But you can’t change somebody intrinsically.”

She added: “I feel, you know, optimistic about the future now. I’ve changed so much and my love was so big that it just blew me open. And as painful as the ending of something like that is, I’m so well-versed in therapy and understanding that every door shutting is a new beginning and I do believe it.”

The former Chelsea Lately host and the Easter Sunday star, 51, dated for nearly one year before calling it quits. While speaking with podcast host Glennon Doyle, Handler alleged that her now-ex was unable to compromise.

“I’m proud of myself because I didn’t let myself cross that line,” the Life Will Be the Death of Me author said, noting that she and Koy had reached a crossroads in their relationship. “I understand the wanting to avoid that, the avoidance of wanting to look in with that and I think I’m at a place in my life that I have to be with somebody who is where I’m at with that.”

Handler confirmed the twosome’s split on Monday, July 18, sharing a video that they initially planned to release on their first anniversary. Instead, the footage was accompanied by a lengthy breakup statement.

“It is with a heavy heart to announce that we have decided