This Is Why Chelsea Handler Doesn't Have Any Children

While it's a personal decision, many women are asked about the possibility of having children. Even women who have said being a parent isn't for them are still asked about their reasoning behind a well-thought-out and already-explained decision. Chelsea Handler is one of those people. She's explained many times that she doesn't want to have kids, both hammering in the same points and providing additional support for her own personal choice.

In 2013, Handler discussed this on The Conversation With Amanda de Cadenet. Per Us Weekly, she declared, "I definitely don't want to have kids," admitting, "I don't think I'd be a great mother." Part of that belief comes from having an already-packed schedule. Handler explained, "I don't want to have a kid and have it raised by a nanny. I don't have the time to raise a child." 

In that interview, the star also touched on her upbringing's effect on her stance, saying, "Childhood was heartbreaking enough for anybody. I don't know that I could handle my own child, especially if I had a girl, going through what I went through growing up. Not that it was so traumatic, but in many ways, it was in your own way."

During a discussion for Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop Summit in 2018, Handler dished more on this decision. Well and Good reported that she explained, "Becoming a mother is something that I take so seriously. People need to really want to become a mom. Honestly, it should be hard to become a parent."

In 2019, Chelsea Handler wrote in an essay for InStyle, "I always knew conventional motherhood wasn't for me. I'm not into babies; I'm only interested in kids once they start talking." However, she does love being a dog mom. Handler recalled, "I was perfectly content never becoming a parent, but then, when I was 27, one of my friends said, 'You don't do anything for anybody — you're making no contribution to society. Try to at least do something good and rescue a dog. She showed me a picture of a 9-year-old half-German shepherd-half chow chow at the pound. I was guilted into it."

The author explained, "I don't know how my dogs feel about me, but I have true, unconditional love for them. I guess it's like what people say about children — you just love them no matter what. Dogs add so much value to your life and make you more balanced as a person the second they start wagging their tail. You want that when you come home, especially if you're single."

While having dogs and having children are not the same, Handler pointed out that "you're still in charge of their well-being." Despite being pushed into the adoption, Handler and her dog Chunk formed a strong bond before he passed away in 2018. She currently has two dogs, Bert and Bernice.

During that 2018 Goop Summit, Chelsea Handler emphasized that just because she doesn't want to have kids of her own that it doesn't mean she doesn't like children in general. In a 2011 CNN interview with Piers Morgan, Handler said she is "definitely" not going to have kids. She told the host, "I'm not somebody who wants to be a mother." She went on to share, "I have a lot of children in my life from my friends and my family."

In a 2016 interview with People, Handler credited her "tender heart" as one of the reasons she decided not to become a mom. She shared, "If my niece has a bad day at school, I worry about it for three days. I'd be such a helicopter parent. I'd drive my child crazy!" The former Netflix star also theorized, "I'd have to over-correct so much from my parents that I would be a nightmare mother."

In a faux PSA that she made for Netflix, the comedian talked about the "perks" of not having a child. She remarked, "It's possible to remain childless and alone. You just have to want it." She joked, "Kids. They're not that great." The talk show host said, "Being childless and alone are everything they're cracked up to be." During the fake commercial, she shared that not having a child gives her the ability to choose how she spends her time.

In recent years, Chelsea Handler has been very adamant that she doesn't want kids, but that wasn't always the case. In a 2016 essay for Playboy, Handler talked about having two abortions as a teen. She admitted, "I wasn't really playing with a full deck of cards, and when I got pregnant I just thought, 'Why not? I can have a baby. Maybe I'll have twins and give them rhyming names!'"

She recalled, "Of course, the idea that I would have a child and raise it by myself at that age, when I couldn't even find my way home at night, was ridiculous." Her parents talked and took her to Planned Parenthood for the abortion. Soon after, she found herself in the same position. The Netflix alum explained, "Getting unintentionally pregnant more than once is irresponsible, but it's still necessary to make a thoughtful decision." Years later, she wrote, "I don't ever look back and think, 'God, I wish I'd had that baby.'" 

Ultimately Handler thinks, "Anybody who carefully decides not to become a parent — let alone a bad parent, which is what I would have become — should be applauded for making a smart and sustainable decision. I'd love for somebody to try to tell me what to do with my body. I dare them."

Motherhood isn't for everyone, and it's perfectly okay for Handler to believe that it's not meant for her and to stand her ground.