Chelsea Handler rips marriage as ‘outdated,’ says she prioritizes freedom

Chelsea Handler is opening up about her philosophy on men and dating.

During a recent appearance on the "Angie Martinez IRL Podcast," the 51-year-old comedian discussed her views on relationships, marriage and men in general, telling the host that she is "not out seeking men," noting, "that is not my agenda in life."

"I'm here for women and I'm here for myself," she said. "I've never been very thirsty for a man or a partner. You've got to really kind of get my attention for me to pay attention in a serious way because otherwise it's a bunch of casual encounters. You know what I mean? I like that. I like traveling a lot. I like hooking up with guys. I don't like to get too serious. I don't want someone in my space all the time. I just am not interested in that."

When it comes to whether she believes in growing old with someone, Handler said, "I mean yeah sure," but then pointed out that "there's 8 million of us" on Earth, and rather than think of yourself as alone when not in a relationship, "you have to think of yourself as like 'I'm free. I'm free now to make every decision I want for myself.'"

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Freedom is a big deal for the former talk show host, who went on to say that "my whole vibe is about freedom."

"I love the idea that I don't have to check in with anybody about anything I do," she said about being single. "I don't have to consider or consult with anyone. If I want to get on a plane and go to Paris, which I will do in a moment's notice, I will go to Majorca for a month and f--- off by myself. You know what I mean? I'll do all of that stuff."

Handler is currently in a relationship with a younger man she refers to as "Cowboy." They met when he lent her $1,000 after she sat next to him at a blackjack table in Las Vegas. They later clicked when he joined her on a trip to Antarctica, and the rest is history.

Despite hitting it off with her new beau, she still claims marriage is "not something I attain to do," calling it an "outdated" tradition and "a really silly idea."

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"But since I've bemoaned marriage my whole entire public life, it would be really hypocritical for me to get married, which means I'll probably do it," she said. "At some point I might just go, OK, f--- it. I'm 50 years old, so I might as well just go get married. What could go wrong at this point? But I don't care about marriage. I don't care about that. I feel like that's a very patriarchal thing anyway. You're kind of like property a little bit."

The former "Chelsea Lately" host has been in a few public relationships in the past, most recently with fellow comedian Jo Koy, whom she dated for just under one year.

Handler announced their breakup in July 2022, saying that being loved by Koy "has been one of the greatest gifts of my life," and that he had a hand in renewing her "faith in men, in love, [and] in being 100% who I am."

She further discussed the reason behind their breakup during an episode of "Now What?" in December 2022, telling Brooke Shields that she thought she found "the person [I'd] spend my life with," and even considered marriage, but that "towards the end of the relationship, it just became clear that this was not my person."

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"There were just some behaviors that we couldn't agree on… It felt to me like I would have to abandon myself, which maybe I would have been OK to do if I were 20 or 25, but I wasn't willing to do that. No matter how much I loved this person — and I loved him so much — I was not going to abandon myself," Handler continued.