Chelsea Handler took parenting classes to support ex’s daughters despite being childfree

Chelsea Handler, 50, said on Thursday's episode of Dinner's On Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson that she took parenting classes even though she does not have children. Handler told host Jesse Tyler Ferguson that not having kids has allowed her to be "in the lives of so many other children" and that she enjoys being a positive influence.

"It's not that I don't have a maternal instinct. I do, I just don't want children," she said. She said she remains close with the three daughters of an ex-boyfriend despite dating him for only a year, in part because she recognized parts of her own upbringing. "I related so much to all of that because I grew up in a household where I was the youngest of six.

My parents were completely checked out," Handler said. "My brothers and sisters raised me, and I craved and wanted the parent that was going to show up to the games, and show up to the school conference nights..." Handler said she took parenting classes for the girls and "loved it," adding she learned from a psychologist "about what children need to feel safe, secure, and seen." She said being involved in their lives feels purposeful: "For me, since I'm not a parent, I still find it so purposeful to have influence over them in a positive way, and to go out of my way for them feels good." Handler has previously said being childfree has given her the freedom to show up for other people's children.

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