Chelsea Handler Says She ‘Really Thought’ Jo Koy Was ‘My Boyfriend’ Before Their Split

Chelsea Handler reflects on her past relationship with Jo Koy with the help of hindsight.

Appearing in “Now What?” on Brooke Shields’ podcast this week, Handler said she was surprised by her split from Koy, noting that the “seminal” relationship even changed her stance on marriage.

“I really thought this was my boyfriend,” she recalled. “I thought, ‘Oh my God, I’ve won.’ As if you had everything. I have my career, I have respect, I have my family, I have many friends, I have all these things. And then I thought, this is the person I’m going to spend my life with.”

The former late-night host did not point to a specific incident as the impetus for the couple’s split, explaining that she and Koy discussed the wedding at length “because it was important to him.” However, she went on to note, “Towards the end of the relationship, it became clear that this was not my person.”

“As much as I loved this person — and I loved him so much — I wasn’t going to give up,” she said. “I won’t change the way I act to make you more comfortable. I don’t and I had to walk away from what I thought would be a forever relationship. So it was hard.”

Handler and Koy, a fellow comedian, announced their split in July, shortly after recording a video they planned to post on social media in honor of their one-year anniversary.

“It is a comfort to know that I am still loved and I love this man as the sun loves the moon and the moon loves the sun. YOUR PERSON IS COMING,” Handler wrote on Instagram at the time. “So please keep supporting us both because you never know what life will bring.”

Koy shared similar sentiments in his post, noting that the two will “always remain great friends and always love each other.”

Handler later spoke more about the split in an appearance on the We Can Do Hard Things podcast with Glennon Doyle, revealing that she and Koy had tried to work things out in therapy before ending their relationship.

“I was willing to cut so many corners, but there is a line. And I’m very proud of myself for not letting myself cross that line,” she said, adding that she now feels “optimistic about the future.”