Drew Barrymore Says She Moved to NYC to Be Close to Her Ex-Husband for Their Kids: ‘We’re Very Close’
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Drew Barrymore is opening up about being a mother and what home means to her.
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey for Winfrey's Your Life in Focus virtual series, hosted in partnership with WW (formerly Weight Watchers), Barrymore, 46, talked about her family and how she moved to New York City so her children Olive, 8, and Frankie, 7 could be closer to their father, her ex-husband Will Kopelman.
"I thought when I had kids, I wanted this really stable home," the talk show host said. "Two parents was the goal."
She continued, "I ended up finding myself in divorce. Their dad moved to New York, I didn't want my children to be away from their father and I love his family. We're very close, and even though we had a divorce, we said, 'Let's not misstep. Let's just carry on like we are a family because we are a family.' "
WW/Youtube
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Barrymore co-parents her two girls with Kopelman, 42, who recently became engaged to Alexandra Michler, Vogue's director of fashion development. Barrymore and Kopelman announced their separation in April 2016 after four years of marriage.
"For the first time in my life I thought, I know what family is and I'm not giving up on that," the Charlie's Angels star said.
When the Golden Globe winner decided to leave her Los Angeles home of 20 years, she admitted she felt like she was giving up on her "dream" of what a home was.
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"It was the home I built for myself. I'd had it for 20 years. It was the home I swore would be my kids," she said. "It was as hard as the divorce itself... I was doubling down on the giving up of the dream."
However, the star saw her definition of home change once her and Kopelman began to co-parent their two children together in New York City.
"I've now figured out what the definition of home is. It's wherever we are, it's wherever I am with my kids," Barrymore said.
The 50 First Dates actor recently shared photos of herself and her daughters in a meaningful post on Instagram to commemorate Mother's Day, writing in the caption that being a mom is "the most important thing I have ever done or will ever have the privilege of doing with my life."
"My Olive and my Frankie. I love you bigger than the universe," she added.
