Drew Barrymore’s Reflections on Family Dynamics and Personal Growth reveal her deep, ongoing journey of emotional recovery and self-discovery.

The renowned talk show host, now 50 years old, faced significant life changes following her divorce from Will Kopelman, 46, after four years of marriage in 2016. In a candid discussion, she opened up about the emotional turmoil she experienced after the separation, sharing how it reshaped her understanding of family.

“Everything to me was very devastating,” she shared during the March 21 episode of The Drew Barrymore Show. She elaborated, stating, “[It] took me a long time to recover from the loss of the traditional family dynamic that I had once envisioned for myself and my children, especially since I did not have that upbringing myself.”

Drew, who is the proud mother of daughters Olive, 12, and Frankie, 10, with Will, reflected on how her challenging upbringing—with her estranged mother Jaid Barrymore and father John Drew Barrymore, from whom she emancipated herself at just 14—has influenced her current perspectives on family life and emotional well-being.

“It’s weird stuff like that,” the 50 First Dates actress reminisced. “It’s like soup when you’re sick. I remember feeling envious of the other kids at school who could call their parents when they were unwell. I would sit in the office, unable to reach anyone, longing for that connection. I would think to myself, ‘What’s that experience like?’”