Rosie O’Donnell Opens Up About Visiting Daughter Chelsea In Prison Through Poetry – Just Jared – Celebrity News & Gossip

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

If you didn’t know Chelsea28, had her probation revoked and was sentenced to prison in October 2025 after she was arrested three times in 2024 on multiple felony charges, including neglect of 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 come early
It is very hot
I’m wearing shorts
Waiting for her

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

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

Just a hug hello and goodbye
No money exchanged
Hands over the table
No loud voices

The visit lasts 4 hours
There are worn out games to be played
Scrabble – cards – chutes & ladders
Other families enter

We’re all waiting
Chelsea is first through the door
My heart skips a beat
She looks good

Healthy calm
Rested blue eyes
Clear skin
In his green uniform

We embrace
She smells familiar
holds well
I stare into her eyes

Shy smiles all around
We’ve been through so much
We sit – other young women enter
A 4-year-old shouts “mommy”

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

I keep an eye on the little child
Navigate the candy machine
Reaches into his bag of quarters
Grabbing her treats

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

I try to stay present
While the sky outside darkens
Looks ominous
I realize I’m sweating

I go and splash cold water
On my face
As the tears fall 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 like a tornado
Landed nearby
The visit is shortened

Chelsea lowers into the chair
Crestfallen – we rushed out
A quick hug
And I’m back in the car

It storms all the way to the hotel
Which I am trying to process
Everything that has happened
It was a big day for both of us

I’ll knock right out
I sleep for hours
Proud of us both

Unconditional love
Simply the only way
Through 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 disappeared and was found be in New Jerseyand later to have moved to Wisconsin to live with their birth mother after turning 18.

Months later, Rosie responded to an all-encompassing interview to Chelsea gave up after disappearing.

Sent to:Chelsea O’Donnell Rosie O’Donnell