Chelsea Handler took to Instagram this week to share a photo that fans thought was a new love interest.
The 48-year-old New Jersey native, who was recently stung by a wasp, posted a photo of herself kissing an unknown man’s cheek on the app’s Stories feature, leading her followers to assume she was having a new romantic interest had.
The unidentified man wrapped his arms around the former Chelsea Lately talk show host and smiled at the camera. Handler, who ended her romance with Jo Koy in July 2022, wrote over the image: “This is my baby.”
Showing off her famously playful personality, she added: “He’s full of love and positivity and his body is my wonderland.”
But the star had to clarify in a subsequent Instagram video: “I haven’t announced a new boyfriend.”
Confusion: Chelsea Handler took to Instagram this week to share what fans thought was a photo with a new love interest – she later clarified that the man was a bartender on her vacation
The funnywoman reappeared on the photo-sharing app on Wednesday evening to make her relationship status clear.
Filming herself in bed, wrapped in a luxurious white robe and with her hair tied in a bun, she set the record straight.
“My vacation is over, guys, and now my publicists are calling me.” They just sent me a text message with a Google thing from me that said, “Chelsea Handler announces new boyfriend on Instagram.”
“I didn’t announce a new boyfriend on Instagram. This man is the bartender right next to my house in Mallorca and that’s why he’s my baby, okay?’
She continued: “Baby doesn’t mean boyfriend. ‘Baby’ means he’s my baby because he made me so many drinks.”
Chelsea seemed amused and annoyed at the same time as she added: “I can’t believe I have to clarify things like this so my cousins don’t read my text messages saying, ‘Is this real?’ Do you have a new boyfriend?”
In a second, short video, she corrected her Freudian slip, saying: “Apparently I meant ‘lyrics from my cousins.’ ‘Sorry, I took an edible.’
It’s been more than a year since Chelsea and her new boyfriend Jo, 52, ended their relationship.
Former Flame: Confusing post comes over a year after she split from Jo Koy; pictured in 2021
Fun: The comedian recently reflected on her vacation to Spain, describing part of the trip as “legendary.”
Last December, Chelsea revealed in an interview with Brooke Shields that things were still tense between her and Jo.
She admitted on the Now What? podcast that she and the stand-up comedian hadn’t spoken for “a while” after their split.
She noted that the two were no longer friends and that she didn’t believe they could ever be until her ex took “responsibility” for the behavior that contributed to their breakup.
“I don’t think we can have a friendship unless we take ownership and responsibility,” she said.
Handler, who dated Koy for 11 months before their split, said their relationship fell apart over time and appeared to point the finger at her ex.
“There were just some behaviors that we couldn’t agree on,” she shared. “And it felt like I had to give up on myself, which I might have done when I was 20 or 25, but I wasn’t ready for that.”
“I thought, ‘I’m not going to change my behavior to make you feel better. “I don’t do that,” she explained.
She recalled: “Walking away from him was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.”
The author of “Mallorca: The Life Will Be The Death Of Me” recently shared excerpts from her vacation in Spain
Earlier this week, the star gushed about her vacation on the water. “I am so grateful to have so many friends who come to me and love Mallorca as much as I have come to love it,” she wrote.
Handler added in an Instagram caption, “The food, the magic, the sangria.” They have all brought so much joy into my life and now it’s time to get back to work!!
“I’ll see you all in New York this week for two shows at the Beacon and two shows in DC, Durham and then two shows at the Pantages in LA!”
“I’ve never played with the Pantages before and I can’t wait to see you all on October 12th and 13th.” I’ve had many adventures this summer and one of them was being filmed for this pornographic slow motion video. I also kissed every man in the harbor on the lips because I’m single and like to flirt!’