Drew Barrymore opens up about Will Kopelman divorce. ‘My dream family was falling apart’

Drew Barrymore is opening up about her post-divorce life ahead of her milestone birthday.

The iconic “50 First Dates” actress, who turns 50 on Feb. 22, married actor Will Kopelman in 2012 before filing for divorce in 2016. 

The couple, who started dating in 2011, share two daughters together — Olive Barrymore, 12, and Frankie Barrymore, 10. 

On Jan. 24, Barrymore took to her “The Drew Barrymore Show” and talked about the former couple’s fallout more than eight years ago — revealing that the divorce “destroyed” her.

“I don’t think I have fully recovered from that in the sense of…” she explained, “I was so invested in that plan.”

While the divorce still affects her to this day, Barrymore insists that she’s “the happiest I’ve been in my life” in a new interview with AARP, published Jan. 23. 

Barrymore was recently announced as the cover girl for the February/March 2025 issue of AARP The Magazine, due to be released in February.

In the cover story, she discussed her fallout with Kopelman and explained how her dream to “have this solid family” never came to fruition. 

“I really broke as a human being. I had two young kids and I didn’t know what I wanted to do for work or in life,” she told AARP. 

“My dream family was falling apart and I didn’t know how to put one foot in front of the other,” she added. 

Barrymore goes on to explain that she “didn’t know what age to feel” and only knew that her life was “heavy and painful and sad.”

She sat in that angst “for a while,” but eventually worked her way out of it. 

“I had two kids and I had to figure it out. They’re literally worth everything, and I’m going to love them, and be inspired by them, and not be codependent,” she explained. 

“They can be my why, but I think I know how to do this without making them the center of my universe,” she admitted. 

Barrymore took a break from acting to focus on being a parent

Once one of the most active and sought-after actresses in Hollywood, Barrymore has since taken a step back from acting — and being a mother played a big part in that. 

“I was in my early 40s, and not learning how to be my own healthy, independent individual, how to be the parent I dream to be,” she told AARP of her decision to step away.

“Being other people doesn’t help me figure that out right now. And the long hours of doing films were hours I wouldn’t have with my kids. I wasn’t going to do that,” she explained. 

Still, she hasn’t ruled out a return to the big screen in the future — and hasn’t ruled out dating, either. 

“Would it be nice if someone came into my life?” she asks herself. “I don’t even know who fits into this. I date occasionally, but no way am I ready to open that door.”

She might not be ready now, but it appears her daughters are. 

“My girls say I should go on dates, but I also know how I felt when men were around when I was little—it didn’t feel safe to me,” she explained. “So I’m probably overcautious from those experiences.”

When AARP’s Natasha Stoynoff asked if a reality show could help her find a new beau, Barrymore was quick to interject. 

“No way would I ever do a reality show,” she said, adding that she has “clear boundaries” for those types of things. It’s funny you said I’m so open and vulnerable.”

As for life with her daughters, Barrymore says they “talk about everything” and “love to laugh.” 

“My biggest thing to teach them is to be kind to people. Kind, safe, accountable. With a lot of funny,” she adds.