The Enquirer has an interview with the father of Rosie O’Donnell’s new girlfriend, NY-based businesswoman Michelle Rounds. Michelle’s dad goes on the record to say that he had no idea his daughter was a lesbian and adds that “it’s been hard to take.” Rosie first went public with Rounds at an event in late September. Rosie later dished about their relationship on the Howard Stern show, saying that she didn’t realize that Rounds was gay when she first met her at a Starbucks holding a cute puppy. She told Howard that she had met Michelle’s parents at that point (that’s at 1:10 into this video), saying “yes” when Howard asked her if she’d met Michelle’s parents and claiming “We’re gay women come on. We’ve met the family, we’re getting wedding invitations printed… I think it could be in the cards, it’s legal in New York. We’ve discussed it.” Only Michelle’s dad says that Rosie was lying, that he’s never met his daughter’s new girlfriend and is still trying to come to terms with the fact that his daughter is gay:
The parents of Rosie O’Donnell’s sexy new lover Michelle Rounds are devastated that their beautiful daughter has hooked up with the outspoken lesbian talk-show host.
What’s more, the ultra-conservative couple from upstate New York say Rosie’s a liar for claiming they’ve met her – and, even worse, they didn’t know their 40-year-old daughter was gay until Rosie publicly proclaimed the two had fallen head over heels in love.
“It totally hit us out of left field,” Michelle’s father Roger Rounds divulged in an exclusive ENQUIRER interview. “We only found out about Michelle liking girls when all this came out about them a few weeks ago. It’s been hard to take!”
[From The National Enquirer, print edition, received via e-mail]
The Enquirer sent us that text as a teaser article and promises that in the full interview they’ll reveal “how Michelle’s parents first heard the news,” “Michelle’s parents hopes for her, now shattered, and how they raised her with traditional family values,” and “Michelle’s high school experiences and her dating life up until Rosie.” So this is a case of a women keeping the fact that she’s gay from her parents, and letting them find out by default through the press. The fact that they’re responding this way and are willing to talk about it to the Enquirer pretty much explains why their daughter didn’t break the news to them herself. I’m not a Rosie fan and I generally find her full of crap, but it’s not her fault that her partner wasn’t out to her family. Rosie shouldn’t have fibbed to Howard by claiming she’d met Michelle’s family though. Maybe she meant that she’d met a sister or brother or something. I get the vibe that this relationship won’t last long for Rosie. The last we heard, Rosie was pressuring Michelle to quit her job and move to Chicago to be with her, and was getting Michelle in trouble at work by calling her all day.
She always looks like a little person, she has such oddly short arms.
So take *that* Mom and Dad!
The fact that these people are totally willing to sell their daughter out to the tabloids, and that they are saying such hateful things, speaks volumes.
I cannot stand Rosie and never believe a word out of her mouth.
I wonder if this woman is really gay – or did Rosie “talk” her into it for some reason. Seems like the domineering control freak Rosie is really pushing this girl. I predict disaster looms.
I wondered that too. Does anyone know if she has any ex boyfriends? I really don’t think this Michelle woman is ‘gay’.. maybe temporarily to get some publicity. Rosie is gross, sorry. These two make an odd couple. Cynthia Nixon’s girlfriend is a butch scary dyke, and kind of resembles a man. Maybe thats why Cynthia Nixon is with her, but this Michelle and Rosie thing doesn;t maker much sense. Definitely a trophy ‘lesbian.’
She’s too hot for Rosie. Trophy lesbian.
Two wrongs don’t make a right. 1) Rosie shouldn’t have outed her obviously closeted girlfriend. She sold her out. 2) The girlfriend’s father sold his daughter out by complaining to The Enquirer. If I were Michelle Rounds, I would dump Rosie and call a “family meeting.”
Maybe she wasn’t gay until she caught a whiff of a gay celebrity being interested in her. It could happen. Golddiggers came in all varieties
Yep!! Agreed. But going down on Rosie’s muff is just gross. Not all the money in the world would get me to do that.
I’d be much more scandalized by the fact that she hooked up with Rosie than because she’s a lesbian. Not cool to talk to the tabloids, either.
Honestly, I think Rosie Odonnell is a terrible role model for gays and lesbians and she makes me nuts. Even though the Enquirer is often filled with crap, Rosie is filled with even more. I think being in a relationship with her would be the most depressing thing ever. That is kind of mean, isn’t it? But Rosie is so dark, loud, controlling, and an egomaniac. Anybody who wastes the time getting in a public feud with Donald Trump, well, has a lot of time on her hands.
We don’t know what her family life was really like growing up. I would guess she doesn’t have a good relationship with her parents if they ran to a tabloid like this. I agree Rosie probably met the family but the people she’s close to. Or maybe there are other people she calls her “parents”.
I bet she did tell her parents, but if they’re “ultra-conservative” maybe they chose not to believe her. They wouldn’t be the first parents to try to live in denial.
I agree that if they’re willing to talk to tabloids, there’s probably a good reason she isn’t close enough to talk to them about it.
Seems weird for Rosie to lie about meeting the parents. Did she definitely say “parents” or just “family”?
I’m betting Rosie’s parents had no such problem.
That whole, “hey we’re lesbians–we’ve known each other for 5 minutes and we’re moving in together and adopting a baby tomorrow” is part of Rosie’s schtick. It’s quite possible she was joking and didn’t mean it literally.
@ Lindy? Since when it’s hateful to have a difficult time to come to terms with your kids’ homosexuality? Did they condemn that she’s gay? No. Honestly, I’d have a bit of a difficult time too if I found out that my kid was gay after several decades. It’s NORMAL, especially if you yourself have been raised in a certain way, in this case, ultra-conservative way.
This is stupid. Then again, if she didn’t come out to her parents then I could only guess that the parents aren’t spectacular examples of acceptance and love either so this thing has multiple ends.
If I was gay, my conservative parents would be shocked and sad. They would NEVER EVER sell a story to the Enquirer making money. Bizarre.. Classless.
@Sumodo1
Your comment sounds like an excuse to hate. Who says it was “obvious” her girlfriend was closeted?
Hm…We are only hearing from the father. I wonder if this is could be a situation where Michelle’s parents divorced long, long ago, and she has a strained, distant relationship with her bio father, the one who is talking to the Enquirer? Perhaps Rosie met Michelle’s mother and stepfather? Something like that?
Nope they are still together and married. And no they were not told before by Michelle. It was a true shock.
Yes, the girlfriend should have told her parents before doing public functions with her new famous girlfriend. But that’s up to her really and I don’t know what her relationship is with her parents. In a slight defence of the parents, maybe they didn’t know the reporter was from the tabloids. Maybe the reporter said he was “freelance”. This is admittedly a small defence. They should have spoken to their daughter first.
Just my 2 cents, but this just doesn’t sound right. I think Rosie may have just walked into a gold-digging family.
Step 1 – hang out at coffee shop with cute puppy until Rosie notices you
Step 2 – play hard to get/don’t move to Chicago until you are married/no prenup
Step 3 – parents can cash in as well! OMG my child is gay..well I nevah
Well suprise, suprise!
what exactly does “family values” mean? Is it like saying youre “normal”? Is there some sort of default setting?
I bet she’s not even gay. Famewhorish, and whoring herself to Rosie.
Sounds like she’s pulling an Anne Heche, except this time, it’s cuz she saw $$$ signs. Rosie is a very very rich woman. This lady probably knew what she was doing. Slow down Rosie.
Who cares if your daughter is a lesbian? What sucks is finding out that she is dating Rosie O Donnell.
Good one, @HannahG.
i love gays but Rosie just makes me sick.
And that poor is too beautiful to be with this ogre.
go away rosie!
Something is off in this scenario & someone is lying. I heard the entire interview w/Rosie. She said that she approached what she assumed was a very attractive & straight 24 yr. old woman. She asked her a question regarding the dog she was holding. Her intention was not a romantic one. She said if she knew the woman was gay, she would never have had the nerve to approach such an attractive woman. However, the woman informed her that she too was gay & had been “out” since she was 24. Rosie was not impressed that she had only been “out” for 5 yrs. But the woman told her she was 40. It would seem if someone has been “out” for that long then her family should have known. But perhaps she was “out” to friends/co-workers & not family.
I’d be devastated if I found out my child had such bad taste and low standards: gay or straight. It’s like your child dating Andy Dick. *shudder*
“Michelle’s parents hopes for her, now shattered, and how they raised her with traditional family values”
What the heck does this even mean?! Gay marriage is legal in New York. Their daughter can get married, have 2.5 kids and already has a dog. She’s a successful business woman. But their hopes are SHATTERED? Is their pride in their daughter’s life and accomplishments solely predicated on her dating a man? So nothing she’s done counts any more just because she happens to be with a person of the same gender? That’s just sad. What shitty parents.
Could this be like Anne Heche “turning gay” when she was with Ellen? Then she conveniently married a man and had his child, and is now with another man. Maybe Rosie’s newest just discovered her true team colors.
Anybody else bothered by the fact that she’s referred to as Rosie’s “lover” instead of girlfriend? I don’t think you’d see that in any article about a straight couple.
And #29, how the hell does Rosie compare to Andy Dick?!! Yes, I can see why people would find her annoying for being outspoken or you disagree with her views or whatever but she’s no pervert cokehead.
@Peasout
I agree with you. Something’s fishy, whether Rosie is lying about meeting the parents, her girlfriend about being out of the closet for the past 16 years, and/or the girlfriend’s father about not knowing his daughter’s gay.
Rosie and this woman don’t even live in the same state, so I don’t see how serious this relationship could even be, considering they didn’t meet all that long ago. It’s crazy — or desperate — to be discussing marriage at this point.
See, even same sex couples have ‘trophy’ partners. I’m betting Donald Trump is rolling his eyes, lol.
Uh huh. Trophy spouse. Something seems off and I can’t quite put my finger on it and there are too many unanswered questions. Also, Rosie has a lot of baggage. I just don’t see this ending well.
that’s it.
her arms ARE short. weird.
Maybe she isnt gay and is just using Rosie for fame/money.
@shannon-THANK YOU! Out of any comments on this post, yours is the one with the most sense! Really, THIS is what “shatters” their hopes for their 40-year-old daughter?? *Long time reader, first time poster
Shannon: “and already has a dog”
lol wtf? That was hilarious 😀
She herself didn’t know she was gay till Rosie hit on her and she saw the $$$$
Dogs are not allowed in Starbuck’s. You can sit outside but if you are by yourself with a dog, it’s hard to order coffee from the sidewalk. That’s my experience, anyways.
Lol hahaha! Hilarious indeed. I really don’t know anything to talk about when it concerns gay. In my country, it is a taboo to even discuss it & I also wldnt want to offend anybody on this forum, d4 my mouth better be shut.
I totally understand how the father feels & I’m glad he cleared up things. Since he got the information through the media, it is wise to go through d same medium to clear his name. Reading his interview suggests he loves his daughter & he is emotional about it. Team Roger Rounds#
Girlfriends is beautiful. What the hell is she doing with Raging Rosie? Sheesh. Well, even Lyle Lovett was married to Julia Roberts no matter how short term that shit was. If she likes it I…
Oh and she loos like Marcia Cross but Blonde.
How can anyone hook up with Rosie? She’s like one of the worst role models young people have in the GLBTQ world. Look at her track record in relationships not to mention she’s always going psycho and stuff even with her kids. Not to mention Rosie’s pretty fugly and Michelle could do so much better. I think her parents are more disturbed their kid hooked up with someone like Rosie than the sexuality slant. I think if Michelle hooked up with say Portia de Rossi there wouldn’t be that much of a flap.
I’ll bet she wasn’t gay until she met (rich and famous) Rosie. Reminds me of Anne Heche and Ellen De Generes.
Rosie is a tortured soul. She lost her mother at a young age and I don’t think her father was able to be the mother/father he needed to be for his kids. Too bad they didn’t have good role models in their life. Rose and her brother are both gay. However, gay people today don’t care how their proclivities affect other people. They think they are NORMAL. God’s word says otherwise. I feel sorry for her, but her perversion is taking over her life.