Rosie O’Donnell Details Visiting Daughter Chelsea in Prison Through Poetry – Just Jared – Celebrity News and Gossip

Rosie O’Donnell is speaking out after visiting her daughter Chelsea O’Donnell in prison.

If you didn’t know, Chelsea, 28, had her probation revoked and was sentenced to jail in October 2025 after she was arrested three times in 2024 on multiple felony charges, including neglecting a child and possession of methamphetamine.

Rosie recently visited Chelsea in prison – which she said her daughter requested – and reflected on the experience through poetry and shared a photo with her daughter on Instagram.

I arrive early
It’s very hot
I’m wearing shorts
Waiting for her

In what looks like
A children’s nursery room
Disney murals on cement walls
Vending machines

Table 8 – I’m told to sit
In one of the red chairs
Beige is for the inmate
The guard explained the rules

A hug hello and goodbye only
No money exchanged
Hands above the table
No loud voices

The visit is 4 hours long
There r worn out games to play
Scrabble – cards – chutes & ladders
Other families walk in

We all wait
Chelsea is first thru the door
My heart skips a beat
She looks good

Healthy calm
Rested blue eyes
Clear skin
In her green uniform

We embrace
She smells familiar
holds on tight
I stare into her eyes

Shy smiles all around
We have been thru so much
We sit – other young women enter
A 4 yr old yells “mama”

Running into the open arms
Of a woman in green
Who she looks exactly like
This tiny child has been here before

I watch the toddler
Navigate the candy machine
Reaching into her bag of quarters
Grabbing her goodies

Chelsea has 4 children
3 girls and a boy
They have not visited
Which pains her I know

I try to stay present
As the sky outside blackens
Looking ominous
I realize I’m sweating

I go splash cold water
On my face
As tears drop from my eyes
I try to shake the sadness

It’s hard enough for her
She turns 29 this summer
And all I see when I look at her
Is a blonde baby in diapers

The guard announces
We must leave as a tornado
Has touched down nearby
The visit is cut short

Chelsea slumps in her chair
Crestfallen – we r rushed out
A quick hug
And im back in the car

It storms all the way to the hotel
As I try to process
All that’s happened
It was a big day for both of us

I conk right out
I sleep for hours
Proud of us both

Unconditional love
Simply the only way
Thru motherhood
Love and forgiveness a must

Even when it seems impossible
Especially then
We live we learn we grow
Even at 64

If you didn’t know, Rosie and Chelsea have had an up and down relationship for years. Back in 2015, Chelsea went missing and was found to be in New Jersey, and later to have moved to Wisconsin to live with her birth mother after turning 18 years old.

Months later, Rosie reacted to a tell-all interview that Chelsea gave after going missing.

Posted To:Chelsea Odonnell Rosie Odonnell